While also approving the company’s 10 kobo dividend, Afriland Properties Plc shareholders have urged the federal government to use the success shown in agriculture to close the N21 trillion housing sector deficit.
The company’s shareholders lamented the escalating cost of construction supplies and the scarcity of housing for the middle-class populace at the 2021 annual general meeting, which was held last week in Lagos.
Sunny Nwosu, the founder of the Independence Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), claimed that the protracted housing deficit would not be remedied unless the government set aside a financial allocation and expanded involvement in other sectors.
According to him, such initiatives will increase the availability of low-cost housing for middle-class families and aid in reducing the growing deficit.
Nwosu said: “We are talking of the housing gap, we cannot close this gap without government allocations to enable banks to provide housing loans to operators. The gap in the sector has continued to widen. We need middle-class residential buildings, not a high class to help reduce the struggle by this group to secure affordable homes.”
He also praised the business for functioning efficiently and boosting shareholder value despite challenging operating conditions by paying dividends.
Emmanuel Nnorom, the company’s chairman, reviewed the company’s performance and noted that sales for the review period increased from N1.01 billion to N1.60 billion, while profit before tax increased from N1.01 billion to N1.60 billion.
Nnorom continued by stating that profit increased by 58% while revenue increased by 8%.
Uzoamaka Oshogwe, the company’s chief executive officer, commented on the performance by saying that the business is in a good position to benefit from the direction of government policy and maximize future rental income from its own properties.
She claimed that in order to maximize the return on investment for shareholders, the company will be able to maintain its rapid expansion of its assets for both residential and commercial uses.
