The management of Fidson Healthcare Plc will interface with stakeholders of the nation’s capital market on Wednesday, April 3, 2019 and present the facts behind its recent rights issue of 750m ordinary shares at N4 each to existing shareholders on the basis of three new shares for every five held by shareholders.
That will however not be the only facts the Fidelis Ayebae-led company management will hopefully provide at the occasion, as he may have to explain the 2018 financials, showing that while sales revenue climbed 15%, the company suffered a N97.447m loss, as against previous year’s N1.06bn profit after tax in 2017. Surprisingly, the directors have offered a dividend of 15 kobo from its reserve, down from previous year’s 20 kobo each.
According to the result presented to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), revenue for the year ended December 31, 2018 rose from N14.057bn to N16.229bn, with its ethical products segment contributing the bulk, at N9.09bn, up from N6.705bn. Over-the-counter drugs contributed N7.06bn, slightly lower than N7.246bn in 2017; while the consumer unit accounted for N78.487m, down from N104.715m.
Cost of sales increased by N3.007bn or 43.58% from N6.902bn in 2017 to N9.91bn, with the ethical drugs segment gulping N4.976bn in cost, which was double the N2.877bn reported in 2017; while cost of sales of OTC drugs increased from N2.879bn to N3.408bn. Energy cost stood at N539.233m from N307.548m; depreciation of factory PPE stood at N463.555m, slightly higher than the N441.02m in 2017; personnel costs ballooned to N269.57m from N104.007m; even as ‘other factory overheads’ stood at N178.536m, down from N229.707m
Gross profit therefore stood at N6.319bn, down from N7.155bn in the previous year.
Other operating income rose to N247.79m from N103.145m; administrative expenses increased slightly from N2.36bn to N2.614bn, driven mainly by the N745.511m personnel costs, which rose from N604.201m. Repairs and maintenance expenses followed at N488.879m from N368.491m, among others; while selling and distribution expenses was down by N443.176m or 18.87% to N1.905bn, compared to N2.348bn, lifted by sales expenses of N1.593bn, down slightly from N1.609bn.
Operating profit therefore fell slightly to N2.047bn from N2.549bn; finance costs jumped N923.352m or 92.18% up from N1.001bn to N1.925bn, with interest on bank loans rising from N617.927m to N1.679bn; just as finance income increased marginally from N31.072m to N38.08m,.
Profit before tax took a 90% dip from N1.578bn to N160.867m, even as income tax expense for the period, which dropped to N258.314m from the previous N517.758m stilled pushed the company into N97.447m loss from N1.06bn profit after tax. This translated to six kobo loss per share, compared to the 71 kobo earnings per share in prior year. The dividend proposed amounts to N225m, as against N300m proposed in 2017.