NIGERIA – The Board of Directors of Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, a foam manufacturing company, has approved the appointment of Abdul Bello as independent non-executive director effective March 4.
According to a notice filed by the firm with the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Bello would be succeeding Mohammed Alkali who retired from the position of independent non-executive director effective January 1.
He brings to Vitafoam, experience acquired across a range of businesses including manufacturing, financial services, pension fund administration, real estate, logistics and quick restaurant sectors.
Bello retired from UAC of Nigeria in 2019 after 30 years in service during which he held various senior management positions such as group chief executive officer; group executive director/ chief financial officer; managing director, UPDC Plc; Managing Director, CAP Plc and Finance Director/ Company Secretary, CAP Plc.
Bello had served on the governing councils of the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association, the Nigeria-British Chamber of Commerce and the Nigeria Institute of Management.
A fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Bello attended Yaba College of Technology, Lagos. He is an alumnus of Oxford University’s Advance Management and Leadership Programme and has undertaken various local and international development courses.
In this new role, he is expected to leverage his executive and board service experience acquired across a range of businesses in the manufacturing, financial services, real estate and logistics sectors to create value for the company.
Vitafoam’s revenue in its financial year 2019/20 grew by 5.21% to N23.44 billion (US$61.68m) at the back of improved demand for products, while the company’s profit for the year surged by 72.1% profit to N4.11 billion (US$10.82m).
With this impressive performance, the company rewarded its shareholders on 5th March 2021 with a mouth-watering dividend of N0.70 per share.
Profit before tax rose 62 per cent to N5.647 billion (US$14.86m), from N3.496 billion (US$9.20m), while profit after tax grew faster by 72 per cent from N2.56 billion (US$9.20m) to N4.108 billion (US$10.81m).
The higher growth in bottom-line resulted from an 8.1 per cent drop in cost of sales and 11.4 per cent reduction in finance cost. Basic earnings per share increased from N1.82 to N3.05 and net assets per share hit N7.25 in 2020, 54.3 per cent above N4.70 recorded in 2019.
Commenting on the results, the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive, Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, Mr. Taiwo Adeniyi, said innovation is the drive.
“As a matter of corporate policy, we do continuous improvement on our products. We sell high margin products. We are highly connected with our customers. We know their different needs and as such our products always gain acceptance in the market. Our foams and other products meet specific needs.
“Last year, we launched Buy Rights when our research revealed that different weights require different types of foams. We do not just sell to customers, we offer health counseling to advise on the specific foam for individual customers. This has greatly endeared us to our customers,” he said.
