May and Baker has recorded a total revenue growth of N8.1billion for the nine months ended September 30 2021as against N6.4billion recorded in the comparable period of 2020, represented about 25 per cent increase.
Speaking to journalists in Lagos, during the company’s media luncheon, the Managing Director, Mr. Patrick Ajah, said as part of measures to scale growth in 2021, they made effective use of improved production capacity and increasingly efficient cost management to mitigate the tough operating environment.
He also stated that the company’s profit before tax rose to N1.3B in 2021 as against N1.0B recorded in the corresponding period of 2020 representing 30 per cent growth.
He further explained that although the fourth quarter has been very challenging with an even worsening forex crisis, which meant that they sometimes must resort to the parallel market to source forex (we know what the rates have been).
“We are optimistic to close the year with final figures not so far from the trends seen in the last three quarters. The preliminary figures at the end of November also point in that direction,” he said.
Ajah expressed confidence that by the end of the year, the company would have crossed N10 billion in revenue for the first time and possibly achieved a profit before tax higher than they have done in recent times.
Speaking ahead of 2022, he stated that their business plan for 2022 also points towards that vision, bringing to bear some of the initiatives that would lay the foundation for the achievement of that vision.
According to him, “As mentioned by my predecessor last year, we have completed our state-of-the-art herbal/nutraceutical products facility within our Pharmacentre. This facility will significantly increase our capacity in the manufacture and commercialization of our herbal medicine for the management of sickle cell anaemia; Niclovix. This is a product of research from the Nigerian Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) which we partnered with them to commercialize.
“More importantly, this facility will enable collaborations with other research institutes and professionals in Nigeria to have their products brought to limelight as we still have enough capacity for possibly five more of these herbal products, with enough support for research and development as might be needed.
“The challenges of the economy are daunting. From the increase in petroleum products prices, shortage of foreign exchange (forex), the consequential high exchange rates, and of-course let’s not forget the lingering global social disruption caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. This has significantly impacted every aspect of our operations. With huge increases in the cost or raw materials; some more than 100%, significant delays and high costs of shipment and even custom duties, a seemingly worsening security situation of the country that has made many locations inaccessible, managing business in Nigeria this year has been a herculean task.”
Thisday