John Holt Records N22m Loss in 6 Months
By Uche Obike and Tunyosola Ayansiji
John Holt Plc has announced N22.0 million loss before made during the second quarter ended March 31, 2004, compared with loss before tax of N9.0 million it recorded in 2003.
The company's unaudited financial results for the same period also showed a turnover of N4.1 billion, as against N3.0 billion in the comparable period of 2003.
The company recently revealed plans to sell off its surplus property as part of its programmes were aimed at turning-around its fortunes.
The Chairman of the company, Chief Christopher Ikechi Ezeh recently announced that the company has a property portfolio of N2.8 billion.
The company's performance during the financial year ended September 30, 2003, showed that the group achieved a turnover of N12.071 billion which was an increase of seven per cent over the N11.242 billion achieved in the previous year, while loss before tax was N133 million as against a profit before tax of N276 million achieved in the previous year.
At the company's 42nd Annual General Meeting held recently, Ezeh said the company's financial performance during the year ended September 30, 2003, "I am certain that with these insights into the excruciating factors, which affected the performance of the company, you will appreciate the situation under which your company operated during the year under consideration. With this background to the circumstances that affected performance, it is little wonder that your company did not perform creditably, especially in terms of profitability."
The Chairman further revealed that intense competition and the vagaries of the environment impacted on margins and consequently profits.
"There is no gainsaying the fact that considerable efforts must be made to, not only achieve profitability, but also generate enough profits, so as to enable us to provide our shareholders with dividends. Your Board and management have designed plans and strategies towards the objective of achieving reasonable profitability, especially through cost reduction, introduction of strong competitive brands and extensive improvements and investments in our core business areas, where we believe our strength lies. We are also making serious efforts to improve our contacts and business relationships, with the view of ensuring that our major customers are among the best corporate entities in the country, so as to provide assurances for continuity in our major business areas and for payments for services provided," he said.
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