LAGOS, NIGERIA — Flour Mills of Nigeria said profit after tax fell 70.62% to naira 4 billion ($11 million) in the 2019 fiscal year compared to naira 13.6 billion in the previous year, due to macro-economic challenges.
Revenues remained stable, decreasing 3%, to naira 528 billion for the year.
The company said reduced consumer buying power, due to low wage growth compared to inflation, impacted revenue in the year.
It also noted that balance sheet optimization and turnaround initiatives in the Agro Allied Division are yielding positive results. For the fourth quarter, the division saw revenue increase 34% to naira 20.1 billion.
Looking ahead to 2020, the company said it will continue to execute the turnaround strategy for the Agro-Allied Division with the goal of ensuring profitability and improving local content in the group’s product portfolio.
It also will continue with active balance sheet management with the objective to achieve additional reductions in finance costs. FMN will focus on increasing operational efficiency and ensuring cost savings on operation.
The ultimate goal is to double group EBITDA within a five-year period.