May & Baker Nigeria Plc has announced a 18 per cent increase in its turnover for the financial year ended December 31, 2012.

Its result released on Thursday showed that the turnover rose to N5.7bn in 2012 compared to N4.8bn at the end of the 2011 financial year.

The company’s gross profit also increased from N1.9bn in 2011 to N2.1bn in 2012, while profit for the year stood at N75.9m.

The Managing Director, May & Baker, Mr. Nnamdi Okafor, was quoted in the statement as saying that the company would perform better in the next financial year based on the increased output from its new multi-billion naira world-class pharmaceutical manufacturing plan and ongoing  business restructuring efforts.

He added that the expected improvement in the business environment would give the company unhindered nationwide access to market its products and consolidate its performance.

According to him, the company also expects to reduce finance costs as a result of a recent access to a soft loan provided by the chairman of the board of directors, which is expected to significantly raise the profitability of the company in 2013.

He pointed out that its world-class new plant, otherwise known as the PharmaCentre, had raised its production capacity by over 60 per cent. This, he stressed, was a landmark investment in the pharmaceutical sector targeted at making Nigeria one of the leading producers of quality medicines in the world.

He said, “The PharmaCentre is currently undergoing the process for World Health Organization pre-qualification, which will make her products to be internationally accepted, a situation no Nigerian pharmaceutical company currently enjoys.

“The WHO pre-qualification will help the nation become self-sufficient in the manufacture of essential medicines and invariably have multiplier effects on the economy notable among which will be job creation and increased foreign exchange earnings.”

According to the statement, the company’s profit after tax however did not follow the growth trend as it dropped on account of provisions for depreciation of over N3.8bn on the new plant.

Okafor reiterated the commitments of the board and management to creating better shareholder value and returns for all stakeholders.

Source: The Punch (by Udeme Ekwere)