By Babajide Komolafe

Unilever Nigeria Plc has appealed to its shareholders to embrace the electronic dividend and electronic bonus as a solution to the problem of unclaimed dividend in the country.

Addressing shareholders at the 88th annual general meeting of the company in Lagos last week, Chairman, Board of Directors, His Majesty, the Obi of Onitsha, Nnaemeka Achebe, said, “The board of directors remains committed to implementing the electronic dividend and electronic bonus payment system in order to further help reduce the incidence of unclaimed dividends and share certificates. I therefore, on behalf of the Board, request shareholders to complete the e-dividend and e-bonus application form in the annual report.”

The company recorded marginal improvement in its performance indices for the 2012 operating year. Revenue grew to N55.54 billion from N54.72 billion. On the other hand, profit before tax rose by to N8.8 billion from N8.2 billion. Consequently, the company retained the same dividend of N1.4 per share for shareholders. Achebe attributed the marginal increase to what he called ‘continuing tough business environment’.

Briefing the meeting on the performance of the company in the 2012 operating year, he said, “Within the context of continuing tough business operating environment, Unilever Nigeria Plc’s fundamentals held strong in 2012. Our company defied the challenging national and economic circumstances with strategic actions and investments, which enabled it to weather the storms and deliver continued value to all its stakeholders. Unilever Nigeria Plc has emerged a stronger business and more than fit to win in the market place.

Against all odds, we succeeded at holding revenue and margins at previous year’s level. Our compelling vision continues to drive focus that will guarantee our ability to continue to win into the future. Unilever Nigeria proactively employed its four pronged strategy of Wining with Brands and Innovation, Winning in the Market place, Winning through Continuous Improvement and Winning with People. Strategic investment in our brands came in form of new product launches in Savoury, Tea, and Hand and body Categories”, he said.