Geregu Shareholders Approve Proposed N20 Billion Dividend

It has been recently announced that shareholders have approved Geregu Power Plc's board of directors' proposed N20 billion dividend.

The approval was given on Thursday at Geregu Power Plc's recent annual general meeting in Lagos, which approved the move.

Femi Otedola, the chairman of the energy company, told the audience that he had received word from the chief financial officer of the company that the dividend had been paid.

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Otedola currently holds N15.28 billion in dividends from his 1,245 direct units and 1,965.979,283 indirect units through Amperion Power Distribution Limited.

Mukhtar Mukhtar, the chairman of the Trusted Shareholders' Association, praised Otedola for assisting minority shareholders in the Nigerian capital market.

He stated, "They know that anywhere they see your hand, there will be value, benefits, and good things to come. Mr. Chairman, you told us years ago that you were going to list Geregu on the stock exchange, and you fulfilled that promise. Look at the tremendous value you have brought to shareholders. Because of that, other companies have now decided that they want to follow."

Mukhtar also appreciated the company's shares' capital growth and dividend payments to shareholders.

At the close of trading on Thursday, the last trading session for Q1 2024, Geregu shares had a market capitalisation of N2.5 trillion and were valued at N1,000 per unit.

Akin Akinfemiwa, the CEO of Geregu Power, addressed some of the concerns expressed by shareholders during the meeting regarding the power sector. He said,

 "Concerning power infrastructure and improvement in power supply, I will refer to the efforts of the Presidential Power Initiative, which is being executed through the FGN Power Company. The immediate aim of these entities is to ramp up power infrastructure in transmission and distribution to about 8,000 to 9,000 megawatts.

"Today, I'm sure you are aware that generation in terms of capacity is greater than our grid constraints. However, once this is ramped up, we believe there will be adequate power supply and improvements in the overall infrastructure before the end of the year."

He mentioned that the company was being cautious regarding the West African Power Pool, which is an initiative of the Economic Community of West African States that brings together national electricity companies in Western Africa.

Akinfemiwa asserted, 

"In terms of the West African Power Pool, it is highly beneficial because it allows us to earn in USD. However, we must also consider that most West African nations have economic challenges.

"One of the things that we are doing at Geregu is to ensure that we evaluate our risks in terms of receivables so that we do not get into contracts where we do not get paid at the end of the day. We are looking at the market pool; we are participants but managing our risks carefully."

He said that one of the challenges to power generation was the declining gas infrastructure, which the Nigerian Gas Infrastructure Company and the NNPCL were working on.

"I also need to tell you that the Federal Government has established the midstream gas infrastructure fund, which is expected to facilitate gas development for power and industries in Nigeria. We believe all these initiatives will improve the gas supply required for generation," he assured the shareholders.

The firm's Deputy Chief Executive, Julius Omodayo-Owotuga, added that it wanted to diversify its customer base.

"We are diversifying our customer base. As opposed to selling everything to NBET, in which case we continue to have huge receivables, we are reviewing all the laws and considering bilateral transactions with companies that consume more than one megawatt under the existing laws," he remarked.

He reassured shareholders of a positive outing in the year's first quarter.

"The Q1 numbers are looking good. We have improved generation, turnover earnings, and earnings per share, which would be materially better than in 2023. We have improved cash flow and expect to release the accounts to the exchange on April 10 after the board's approval," Omodayo-Owotuga enthused.