Afriland Properties Plc has announced a profit before tax of N1.74bn for the year ended December 31, 2014.

The amount represents a 311 per cent increase when compared to its PBT for the corresponding period of 2013.

Shareholders of the company were briefed about Afriland’s performance for the year at the company’s 2nd Annual General Meeting, which was held recently, a statement from the company said.

At the AGM, held in Lagos, the company’s Board of Directors declared a total dividend payment of N499.6m. The dividend translates into 40 kobo per ordinary share.

In the year under review, the company’s total assets increased by 92.8 per cent to N8.1bn from the N4.2 billion at which it stood at the end of the 2013 financial year.

The statement quoted the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Afriland Properties, Mrs. Uzo Oshogwe, as attributing the performance to the company’s corporate governance standards.

She said, “The company’s financial performance is an evidence of its operational excellence, a customer centric culture and high corporate governance standards. Our deliberate focus on excellent delivery has prompted us to increase our full-year performance.”

On her part, the Chairman of Afriland Properties, Angela Adebayo, was quoted as saying, “The upturn in our net earnings is attributable to improved operational efficiency and focus on value creation.”

She said that the company would improve its operations in the 2015 financial year.

“We are prepared to strengthen our balance sheets and business model this year by tapping into the opportunities that will be created in the building and construction sector,” she said.

She added, “We are equally poised to take advantage of other structural reforms of the Federal Government, which hopefully will impact the housing sector.”

Afriland Properties Plc is a property development and management company, offering end-to-end services along the real estate value chain, from management to joint-venture investments.

According to the statement, with a portfolio size of over N8bn, Afriland Properties is pioneering the opportunities presented by an institutional approach to real estate, serving niche markets throughout Africa.

Punch