Shareholders of Med-View Airline Plc has commended the board and management of the company for recommending a dividend of three kobo per ordinary share of 50 kobo, just three months after the company is listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
At the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Lagos on Wednesday, shareholders, who unanimously approved the dividend payout noticed that the decision to give back to shareholders via dividend in a short time was worthy of praise.
Patrick Ajudua, speaking on behalf of other shareholders noted that the dividend payout would go a long way in boosting the confidence of shareholders which had, in the time past, been bruised from experiences of some delisted airline companies.
Also, Chairman of Progressive Shareholders Association, Boniface Okezie, said the board of Med-View Airline was responsive to declare dividend, while noting that the company should be careful to avoid the pitfall other airline company faced.
In his response, Chief Executive Officer of Med-View Airline Plc, Muneer Bankole, appreciated the confidence of the shareholders in the company, while assuring them that the company was poised to give greater returns for their investment. He noted that the quality and experience of the calibre of the board members in aviation industry was a testament of continued profitability of the company.
He recalled that there had been significant improvements in the company’s finances over the years since the start of scheduled fights in 2012 till date.
“The revenue of the company has shown an upward surge from N3.6 billion in2012 to N25.8 billion in 2016. The profit after tax grew from N110 million to one billion naira. In addition, the Assets based have moved from N4.88 billion to N14.079 billion,” he said.
On the challenges being faced by the company, the CEO said access to funds was a major key factor to the survival of any Airline as the major funds required are in foreign currency, noting that in Nigeria, the scarcity of Forex, devaluation of Naira, high cost maintenance, low patronage and multiple taxes were the major factors that affected the Company adversely during the year.
He, however, said in the face of these challenges, “Med-View’s resolve to excel has not been in question as the Company equipped herself with knowledgeable Board members who have served in the aviation.”
Speaking on the financial results for the year ended 2016, Bankole noted that company’s result was encouraging, noting that the company’s revenue increased from N14.16 billion in 2015 to N25.96 billion at the end of 2016. The profit before tax increased marginally from N830 million to N840 million.
“The challenges before the company are to ensure that we improve on our performance and move to an era of sustained growth, profitability and adequate returns to all stakeholders within the shortest period of time,’ he said, noting that the Board was up to the task and measures are inplace to achieve set objectives.
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