Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of Fidson Healthcare for the year ended December 31, 2015 showed that profit after tax rose from N631.83 million in 2014 to N744.38 million in 2015.
The board however took a cautious approach to dividend payout, reducing dividend per share from 15 kobo in 2014 to 5.0 kobo in 2015.
The company will distribute 10 per cent of net profit as cash dividends for the 2015 business year as against about 36 per cent distributed for the 2014 business year. Shareholders will receive a total of N75 million as cash dividends for 2015 as against N225 million paid for the previous year.
The report showed turnover of N8.21 billion in 2015 as against N9.72 billion in 2014. Profit before tax stood at N838.04 million in 2015 compared with N870.8 million in 2014. The company stated the decline in pre-tax profit was due to 29 per cent increase in finance cost from N554 million to N715 million due to the N2 billion fixed rate bond issued in November 2014.
The management of the company attributed the decline in top-line to challenges to sales and distribution faced during the first half of 2015 largely due to the general elections.
