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University Press PLC Annual General Meeting

University Press Plc Successfully Holds 44th AGM. All Resolutions Passed

On Thursday, September 29, 2022, University Press Plc successfully held its 44th Annual General Meeting at the Conference Room of its head office in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. In accordance with COVID-19 safety protocols, the meeting was hybrid.

According to the Chairman, Board of Directors, Mr Obafunso Ogunkeye, in spite of the operating challenges, the Company recorded a total revenue of N2,305,714.00, in the reporting financial year which is 2021/2022, a 62% increase compared with the revenue of N1,419,422,000.00 in the 2020/2021 financial year and a profit after tax of N207,492,000.00 with a 263 per cent increase over the N57,107,000.00 realized in 2020/2021.

As a result of the above, a dividend payment of 10 kobo per ordinary share of 50 kobo was approved, being 100% increment from the 5 kobo dividend approved for the 2020/2021 financial year.

In his statement, the Chairman said: “In spite of the current challenges, opportunities abound for visionary organisations that prepare, take stock of the situation and develop the skills to manage situations as they come. Our company is well-positioned to take advantage of emerging opportunities by leveraging on our past and recent achievements through a combination of sustained focus on our customers and an improved operating efficiency. Much has been put in place since the last AGM to reposition our company to deliver on these goals, from new product lines being developed to reengineering old ones for profitability. We are confident that University Press Plc stands at a much better place to deliver on improved revenue, profitability, and overall growth in order to preserve and enhance shareholders’ interests.”

Shareholders at the meeting commended the management of University Press Plc for the quality of its board members.

For instance, Mr Segun Owolabi, one of the shareholders, said: “… Mr Chairman, on that note, let me continue by commending the quality of this board, there is no doubt about that. This board’s quality and credibility is very, very solid and I am happy that the legacy our late Baba Are left is being built on. That is very, very commendable, Mr Chairman …”

Buttressing Mr Owolabi’s comment, Mr Tunde Badmus, another shareholder, said; “… I will not say because the time is short and fail to appreciate the board. Just like the earliest speaker said, we have one of the most qualified and eminent people on board …”.

In the same vein, a shareholder in the person of Mrs Bisi Bakare commended the board and management for the awards received during the year under review. According to her, “… I want to specially commend and congratulate the board and management for the awards we received during the year under review, especially the Academic Companion of Honour Award, 2022, in recognition of our company’s contribution to the development of education in Nigeria. This is very good and I want our company to keep it up.”

Some shareholders however mentioned that while it is commendable that the company is paying 10 kobo dividend this year compared to the 5 kobo paid last year, there is the need to do more as the shareholders need more money due to the economic situation in the country.

Commenting on this, the Managing Director of University Press Plc, Mr Samuel Kolawole said; “… You talked about the issue of dividends. We know it can be more, but we are operating under a very challenging environment. We need money to do the business that is why we cannot give everything out as dividends now, and then next year we don’t have money to do the business. In fact, at this time, we should be ploughing back whatever we are making because of the challenges. But we hope that the company will continue to improve in its performance so that the returns to stakeholders will be much better…”

Representatives of the various shareholders and proxies encouraged University Press Plc’s management to continue with its good work and maintain its tenacity in striving for the growth of the company, as they appreciated the company’s good record of continuous payment of dividends for the past 32 years without missing any year.

In response to statements by shareholders, the Chairman reiterated Management’s commitment to continually do what is in the best interest of shareholders.

All resolutions proposed at the AGM were approved, including the re-election of Architect Ayodeji Olorunda, Mr Olayinka Lawal and Mr Yomi Aremu as non-executive directors; the election of 3 shareholders as members of the audit committee; authorization of the directors to fix the remuneration of external auditors; the approval of directors’ remuneration and the declaration of a dividend of 10 kobo per share, among others.

If you missed this event, click here to watch the full video.

You can also click here to download the 2022 Annual Report and Financial Statements as well as the e-dividend form.

By Janice Johnson Pemida

Digital Publishing Unit.

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