“By 1991, Omatek Venture became Premium Partners with the major foreign brands at that time and by 1993, it launched its first locally assembled Omatek Computer brand from Semi Knocked Down (SKD) assembly in Nigeria. In 2003, Omatek established it first locally assembled Completely Knocked Down (CKD) factory in Africa. Today, the factories are sited in Ghana and Nigeria”

(Source: Mrs. Florence Seriki, Managing Director/CEO of Omatek Ventres Plc)

Lagos– investadvocate in its usual manner sought to find out more about recent activities in Omatek Ventures Plc following its posting listing era and launching of a new product “Style Me”.

 

In this interview with PETER OBIORA, Online Editor of investadvocate, Mrs. Florence Seriki, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the foremost leading Firm in the African ICT Industry; discusses issues relating to the Company’s last Private Placement, Complaints by some shareholders on the non-receipt of year 2009 dividend payout by the Company and concerns as regards the effect of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBNs) reform on Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) and issues of funding businesses.

Other matters discussed include, change in the Financial Year End (FYE) of the Company, newly unveiled product “Style Me”, future outlook among others. Excerpts:

 

Post listing benefit/challenges as a listed Firm

 

Being a Public Liability Company (PLC) I guess has improved our status quo, it has made us to be more on our toes; in terms of trying to meet up with statutory returns and so on.

We have always had Corporate Governance; but the only challenge that we have and advice is that some of this Reports should be fair, it doesn’t matter if we just listed at the Stock Exchange; but the pressure has been enormous on us.

Just coming out as a Small and medium Scale Enterprises (SME) and being affected with the ongoing Banking reform in Nigeria of not securing loans to support businesses is a major challenge to us.

This has not given us the opportunity to do so many things; remember initially we didn’t go to the Stock Market; we only did a Private Placement (PP) it was the success that took us to the Stock Market. So, we had to keep up the pressure. Other than these, we are trying to manage. It has been a lot of work for us particularly recruiting new hands; training the existing ones, removing those that would not change; restructuring to meet up; grappling with no working capital. So we have to take the factory out to look for working capital in our own way. However, the Nigerian Banks have not been very helpful at all.

EDITORs PICK:

Omatek Ventures Plc sometimes in March 2008, sought to raise funds by way of Placement by offering to investor 750 million Ordinary Shares of 50 Kobo at N2.70 Kobo per share.

Thereafter, on June 19, 2008 listed 1.5 billion Ordinary Shares of 50 Kobo each at N4.90 Kobo per share on the Floors of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

Is the recent comment by the Minister for Finance to encourage Local Manufacturers a realistic statement?

I think the CBN and Ministry of Finance should go back to the drawing Board; they have done well to clean up the Banks; they should come back and look at the repercussions of their reforms in the Banking Sector on SMEs and Industries. There has not been too much support for local industries. They do not understand that businesses is not trading; but long term process; the Banks just dropped off a lot SMEs with the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), took funds and went ahead their normal Banking; especially for those Bank Managing Directors that have no intention of actually helping to stabilise the Banks they have been put to manage temporarily, they saw their job as a temporary one, these has affected the Small Businesses. Though, the likes of Oceanic International Bank Plc restructured and they are moving on, these are some of the issues on ground.

On the usage of the proceeds of your last Private Placement N6.0 billion

We didn’t raise N6.0 billion, what we did was to first pay off the SME by liquidating all our facilities and we had very little left to continue to do business and we are about to bring more out. But with the situation in the Market, we couldn’t do that. Right now, we have decided to do our business by funding our businesses. The N6.0 billion project I told you, we had to pull it out of the Account when we couldn’t fund it and we brought it back into our new financial year.

EDITOR’s PICK:

Mrs. Seriki had in a Question and Answer session affirmed to Proshare NI that Omatek Ventures in March 2008 sought to raise N2.0 billion by way of Placement by offering to investors 750,000,000 Ordinary Shares of 50 Kobo each at N2.70 per share. Out of the N2.0 billion the Company intended to raise, it succeeded and raised close to N6.0 billion. This as at the timing of filling in the report could not be confirmed.

“We projected to raise the sum of N2.0 billion, but we got over N7.0 billion and absolved about N6.5 billion; one year is a long time and we needed to have some money to start at least something. We sold for N2.70 Kobo” she said.

Also on June 2008, Mrs. Seriki told Proshare NI as published on its website that the firm would absolve between N4.0 billion to N6.5 billion excess funds in its March 2008 Private Placement (PP).

She further affirmed to Proshare NI that Omatek Ventures needs the money to operate before the one year directive that regulators issued to companies that just listed on the Stock Exchange; before approaching the market to raise fresh funds.

To source for funds for your business would you consider raising fresh funds by way of Public Offering?

Definitely we would release more shares, we are about to do that; but ought to have a Board meeting and an Annual General Meeting (AGM); where we would sit down and decide which way to go.

Complaints on non-receipt of the year 2009 dividend by some investors

We looked back into it. At first, the money we set aside was part of the money Afribank Nigeria Plc just decided to take back from us; but we have replaced it immediately. We will keep working to make sure that any investor who is yet to receive does so. We are waiting for the new AGM; which means we are through with the last financial year. Our Registrars have cleared shareholders of the Company as to this regard. There are some companies I am a shareholder; but I haven’t received my dividend; but did not make too much noise about it; I waited and I got it. This is our first time to be on the Stock Exchange and with time, we would get all these things right.

FACTS CHECK:

Omatek for the period ended June 30 2009 proposed and approved a dividend of 5 Kobo per ordinary share of 50 Kobo each amounting to N147.09 million.

On pruning down the Board of Omatek

The last Board you saw was not for the Omatek Ventures Plc, they were for five Companies; including Ghana Omatek. Do to the fact that we were doing our first AGM as a listed Company, they all showed up. So they were not from the PLC.

FACTS CHECK:

Omatek Ventures Plc in a Press Statement July 2008 affirmed that it has reconstituted its Board of Directors (BOD), as the company repositions for the future.

The new Board; the statement affirmed, consists of seasoned administrators and professionals; who are expected to take Omatek to the next level.

Tim Farinre, is the Chairman of the new Board, other personalities include Solomon Oladunni, Professor Ibidapo-Obe, John-Bede Anthonio and a host of others.

The company in the Statement also said it has diversified into other areas of businesses outside Computer Manufacturing; with subsidiaries such as Omatek Engineering Services Limited (OESL), Omatek Ventures Limited (OVL) and Omatek Computers Limited (OCL).

Each of these companies has its own Board and new professional management staff to run its affairs. While Omatek Ventures Plc was to serve as the parent company to the other subsidiaries in the Group.

On the recent change of your Financial Year End (FYE)

We changed to December, this December ended, we completed 18 months financial period. We have one more board meeting to decide when the AGM of Omatek will take place.

EDITORs PICK:

On March 25 2011, Omatek Ventures Plc notified The Exchange that it has changed its Financial year end from June 30, to December 31; so as to enable it align its reporting dates with its’ business and technical partners in Ghana, Taiwan, Singapore and China.

The effective date of this change was October 13, 2010.

On the Omatek new product “Style Me”

The “Style Me” is a new innovation; we are the first to launch eight and 10 inches Notebook in Africa. Also, we are the first to launch colours and now we have introduced “Style Me” to put aesthetics and to make the product attractive to all sectors including youths and these are very beautiful machines at affordable prices, it ranges from N35,000 to N40,000 upwards.

Future outlook for the Company

We have always ignored distraction; we are a completely Knock Down factory, pure breed professionals and have always continued to do our business. As you have seen, we are currently launching many new products.

End