TOTAL NIGERIA PLC'S 32nd ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Total Nig Plc held its 32nd Annual General Meeting on Wednesday the 23rd of June 2010 at the Shell Hall Muson Centre, Lagos where its shareholders approved the payment of a final dividend of 828 kobo per share for the year ended December 31, 2009. An interim dividend of 340 kobo had earlier been paid to its shareholders bringing the total dividend paid to N11.69 kobo. The company's turnover rose slightly from =N=177.411 Billion in 2008 to 178.570 Billion by the end of 2009. Profit after tax showed a decline moving from=N=4.393 Billion in 2008 to =N= 3.968 Billion in the year under review.
The chairman Mr. Stanislas Mittleman in his statement at the meeting said that considering the challenges faced by the economy and the industry in 2009, the results are fair and demonstrates the resilience of the company in the face of adverse external factors.
With regards to the business environment, he stated that the economy struggled to break out of the gloom engendered by falling oil prices, international and local financial crises as well as a severely bearish capital market. Although the combined effect of the non-oil sector's performance and the relative calm in the Niger –Delta led to a slight improvement in GDP growth rate (6.91%).
According to the Chairman, Mr. Mittleman, should the necessary framework for operational efficiency be established and actively supported by the Government, the market for petroleum products in a country as large as Nigeria will remain promising.
The company's directors are of the view that the company's performance in 2009 was commendable notwithstanding the very challenging business environment throughout most of the year. It is their firm view that all performance indices should improve significantly if a more settled and predictable business environment is created in 2010.
The Managing Director of the company, Mr. Dominique Thiolon, who also spoke at the event, said N4.2 billion has been voted by Total Nigeria Plc to upgrade its retail outlets and facilities expansion agenda. Explaining further, Mr.Thiolon said about N1 billion from the sum would be devoted to boost its safety and logistics facilities.
During the Annual General Meeting, the appointment of Dr Ibrahim Gobir, a Chartered Engineer and Businessman as an independent Director was ratified.
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