Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc will raise it’s manufacturing capacity by 300 per cent this year. This will be the outcome of an ongoing facility upgrade at its Oregun, Lagos factory.
This was made known by the Managing Director/CEO of the Company, Pharm Matthew Azoji at the Annual General Meeting of the Company held in Lagos Tuesday. Speaking to shareholders who were excited at the growing prospects of the Company, Azoji said the capacity upgrade would increase the turnover and profits of Neimeth.
Last year the Company announced a two-pronged expansion programme – to build a new manufacturing plant at Amawbia in Anambra State and a facility upgrade of its Oregun plant. The facility upgrade is now nearing completion while work at the new plant is getting to an advanced stage, according to Azoji.
The fortunes of Neimeth has taken an upward turn since 2018 when it returned to profitablity after nearly a decade of predominantly losses. From a loss of N404.9 million in 2017 the Company made profit of N166.4 million in 2018, N304.4 million in 2019, N297.3 million in 2020 at the upsurge of COVID pandemic and N365.2 million in 2021.
Dr. Ambrosie B. C. Orjiako, Chairman of the Board of Neimeth said the Board is working with Management to ensure that the growth trajectory is sustained.
Neimeth has emerged from an era of constant losses to a period of steady growth in both turnover and profitability.
In the past three years the company has built a regime of growth and profitability. In the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 business years the company recorded growth in both turnover and profit after ten years of lull.
Following the same growth trajectory, the share price of Neimeth increased 343 per cent from 40 kobo as at September 30, 2019 to N1.77 as at March 14, 2022. Between 2012 and 2021 the Earnings Per Share of Neimeth grew 280 per cent from negative 5kobo to 14 kobo per share,. The ability of the Company to create wealth for shareholders has been applauded by industry and market watchers and regulators. In 2019 Mr. Matthew Azoji, the MD/CEO was named among Nigeria’s top 25 CEOs on account of the wealth creation ability of the Company. And in 2021 the company was rewarded with the award of the Nigerian Investor Value Awards as the Best Performing Stock (Healthcare) in the Nigerian capital market on account of the value it created for shareholders through capital gains. The NIVA Award celebrates public companies that have created sustainable value through strategic intelligence, operating efficiencies, market leadership and organizational values for investors. It celebrates the wealth building capabilities of quoted companies in Nigeria.
The Company has equally transited from non dividend payment which lasted for a decade to one of consistent payment of dividend to shareholders. In 2020 it applied its profits to restructure its balance sheet and returned to dividend payment in 2021. In that year it paid a dividend of 6.5 Kobo for every 50 Kobo share and in 2022 this was increased by 8 per cent to give shareholders 7kobo for every 50 Kobo share held in the Company.
Neimeth to Increase Capacity by 300 per cent
