Stories by NKIRUKA NNOROM

Portland Paints and Products Nigeria Plc (PPPNP) returned to profitability as it recorded 148 percent in profit after tax for its financial year ended December 31, 2013.

Specifically, the company’s post tax profit grew to N107.5 million from a loss of N222.7 million in 2012.

Operational Profit also grew from a loss position of N130.8 million in 2012 to N224.4 million in 2013.

Addressing members of the company at the Annual General Meeting, AGM, in Lagos, the Chairman, Mr. Larry Ettah, attributed the turnaround in the fortune of the business to successful implementation of innovative and proactive policies during the year.

“The Nigerian economy faced enormous socio-economic challenges in 2013; however, as shown in this report, your company was able to successfully weather the storm and post an impressive result,” he stated.

He expressed optimism on the prospect of the company’s business going forward, saying that the benefits of investments made in the previous year are expected to begin to trickle in the current year

“For our company, we are poised to reap the benefits of the current investments in the business. The company will continue to implement its strategies for the enhancement of its service delivery through the restructuring of its operations and, in particular, the route to the market and focus on areas of its core competencies, enforcement of procedures and processes in tandem with the group’s policies.

“These initiatives have re-positioned our company for sustainable growth and improved performance in 2014 and in the years ahead,” he added.

He noted that the company has continued to implement strategies for enhancing the quality of the service delivery through restructuring of its operations, increased investment in technology, infrastructure and enforcement of procedures and manpower development.

He noted that as the country moved closer to the forthcoming elections in 2015, it was imperative for political representatives and policy makers to ensure that their activities impacted positively on the business environment.

Commenting on the economy, he said: “Although most analysts expect foreign reserves to decline marginally, due to CBN’s strategy of using the external reserve to stabilise the Naira and the likelihood of modest currency depreciation, we are optimistic of the growth prospect of the economy in the medium term due to the likelihood of continued sustenance of the Federal Government’s reforms in the power, transportation and agriculture sectors of the economy.”