Shareholders of TotalEnergies Marketing Nigeria Plc, have approved the management's N8.488 billion (N25.00 per ordinary share) dividend payout for the year ended December 31, 2023.
The shareholders gave their approval at the company's 46th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at the weekend in Lagos.
During the year under review, the company's revenue increased by 32 per cent from N482.47 billion in 2022 to N635.95 billion in 2023. Also, profit after tax dropped by 20 per cent to N12.91 billion in 2023 from N16.12 billion reported in the 2022 financial year.
The chairman, TotalEnergies Marketing, Jean-Phillipe Torres said that despite the challenging operating environment in the year 2023, TotalEnergies remained consistent in giving return to investments of shareholders.
He stated that 2023 was a very specially difficult and challenging year but we are paying a dividend of N25, saying that "the company places a high premium on its esteemed and valued shareholders and therefore ensures good returns on their investments each year. We also keep in mind that to continue to offer these returns, the business has to remain profitable."
He acknowledged that despite myriads of challenges, the company posted good results which were made possible due to patronage by its loyal customers and commitment from its shareholders, board, management and staff in the face of such adversity.
He noted that the frequent change in the official exchange rate by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) negatively impacted lubricant margins but Total Energies continued to grow its market share in lubricants rising to 16 percent, adding that the company has a positively eventful year in its lubricant business with the launch of several products designed for hybrid vehicles and to improve fuel consumption and engine life.
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"It has become more difficult for our lubricants to be counterfeited with the security measures we introduced in 2021. Now, we have new cans and the cans of each of our lubricant lines are colour-specific; there are additional security seals on the caps and we have a barcode for each can. All of these undoubtedly provide extensive security for our lubricants," he said.
The chairman revealed that in 2023, TotalEnergies, like other marketers, did not import PMS due to the unavailability of foreign exchange, while explaining that NNPC maintained the role of sole importer of PMS and TotalEnergies, and other marketers purchased PMS and AGO from NNPC.
"During the year, there were several outages of PMS, which slowed activities in our stations across the country. AGO and Jet A1 remain fully deregulated but access to foreign exchange by marketers continues to be a challenge, inhibiting imports.
Looking ahead, Torres assured that TotalEnergies remained hopeful and would continue to invest in and deliver top-tier services, while emphasising that the company's 67-year legacy of providing high-quality products and services is guided by strong ethical standards
The shareholders expressed delight at the final dividend and called on the management to do more so as to strengthen the profitability of the company.
