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Unilever Overseas Holdings B.V. has increased its stake in its Nigerian subsidiary, Unilever Nigeria Plc, with the purchase of additional shares, mandatory disclosures by the latter on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, show.
Prior to the transactions, Unilever Overseas was the single largest investor with over 70 percent shareholding in the Nigerian company. It then increased its equity stake after buying over 17 million shares at ₦12 per share, with a total value of ₦204.3 million on August 10.
The holdings company further consolidated its position with a fresh purchase of 67,094,382 shares at ₦12.5 per share, which amounted to ₦838,679,775. According to the company disclosure signed by General Counsel and Company Secretary, Abidemi Ademola, the latest transaction occurred earlier in the week.
The acquisition of additional shares adds substantially to Unilever Overseas’ investment in Unilever Nigeria, which manufactures and markets consumer products primarily in the home, personal care, and food categories which include popular products like, Omo washing powder, Lipton tea, Blue Band margarine, Pears baby care goods, Vaseline petroleum jelly,Lux soap, and Close Up toothpaste.
The consumer goods giant has experienced some turbulence operating in a harsh business environment that has worsened by the coronavirus pandemic. It had a tough start this year, seeing a 30 percent drop in the top line revenues, particularly from major business segments, according to its Q1 2020 unaudited financial report.
The slump in performance came on the back of a border closure by the Nigerian government last year, which stoked inflation and narrowed household purchasing power. A four-week lockdown imposed on Abuja, Lagos and Ogun State in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, further dented consumer confidence and demand for non-essential household products.
More so, its half-year unaudited financial result for 2020 shows a drop in revenue to ₦14 billion compared to ₦23.4 billion recorded in the same period last year, while Unilever Nigeria saw a loss of ₦1.63 billion as against a profit of ₦1.9 billion for the corresponding period last year.
Unilever Nigeria share price rose by 1.25 percent to ₦13.75 on Monday after the insider purchase disclosure. With a market capitalization of more than ₦71 billion, it has about 5.75 billion outstanding shares with Unilever Overseas Holding B.V. as the majority shareholder.
Other major shareholders include First State Investment Management (UK) Ltd., Old Mutual Investment Group (Pty) Ltd, Global X Management Co. LLC, First Sentier Investors (Australia) IM Ltd., Sanlam Investment Management (Pty) Ltd., Danske Capital Finland Ltd., JPMorgan Asset Management (UK) Ltd. among others.
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