Greif Nigerias shareholders meet on NSE delisting

By Taofik Salako, Capital Market EditorShareholders of Greif Nigeria Plc are scheduled to meet at their extraordinary general meeting next week in Lagos to consider a proposal for the delisting of the company from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).Directors of Greif Nigeria had met at the companys head office in Lagos and decided to call an EGM to consider the sale of the designated companys properties in Apapa, Lagos and the delisting of the companys shares from the NSE.The EGM is scheduled to hold on Thursday, January 23, 2020 at the companys Apapa, Lagos office. Shareholders are expected to vote to empower the board to take such steps or actions and to do all things as may be necessary to give full effect to the two resolutions on property sale and delisting.The board of Greif Nigeria had last April suspended operations of the company as the packaging company continued to wriggle in losses.The board had resolved that the company should stop receiving new orders from customers and also stop production for an indefinite period.The board stated that it took the decision because the company recorded a loss of more than N260 million in 2018 and the loss had also continued in the first quarter of the 2019 business year.According to the board, efforts made to win back key customer and also get price increase from the customers were yet to yield positive result.It had, therefore, been resolved that the company stop receiving new orders from customers and also stop production for an indefinite period, the company stated in a regulatory filing signed by its Managing Director, Mr David Onabajo.Greif Nigeria had suffered a major contraction in its business in 2018 as the packaging company struggled with significant decline in sales.Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of Greif Nigeria for the year ended October 31, 2018 showed that sales dropped by 62 per cent from N1.405 billion in 2017 to N534.611 million in 2018. As against modest profit of N77.55 million in 2017, the company posted pre-tax loss of N245.23 million in 2018. After taxes, net loss rose to N262.59 million in 2018 as against net profit of N49.42 million recorded in 2017. Earnings per share consequently declined from N1.16 in 2017 to a loss per share of N6.16 in 2018.Greif Nigeria had forewarned investors that the immediate past business year was a very challenging year for the company.The company had stated that economic and competitive environment in the steel drum and packaging sector gave rise to a very tough situation for its business, which resulted in the closure of two of its branches during the 2018 financial year.
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