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Tag: Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc

  • Flour Mills revitalises Honeywell brand

    Flour Mills revitalises Honeywell brand

    Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc has re-launched its Honeywell brand in a renewed commitment to meeting consumers’ needs.

    At the event in Lagos, Honeywell  unveiled new identity, featuring vibrant packaging and enhanced product quality.

    Honeywell’s portfolio includes Noodles, Pasta (Macaroni and spaghetti), and staples  as Semolina and Wheat.

    Managing Director of Food at Flour Mills, Devlin Hainsworth, said the re-launch combines tradition with innovation.

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    He said: “This re-launch represents a strategic transformation for Honeywell. We’ve reimagined our products to maintain standards, delivering improved quality.”

    The packaging is a visual celebration of Nigeria’s culture and the brand’s legacy. With enhanced nutritional value and taste, the updated products promise to enrich lives.

    Marketing Director, Ilyas Kazeem, said: “Through innovative marketing, in-store promotions, and outreach, we invite Nigerians to rediscover the brand.”

    The campaign features opportunities for consumers to engage with the brand, including online contests, giveaways, and on-ground activations.

  • Firm to invest $1b on production facility expansion

    Firm to invest $1b on production facility expansion

    Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc has announced plans to invest up to $1 billion over the next four years to expand its operations.

    The Chairman, John Coumantaros, said the move reflects a commitment to increasing investment in Nigeria.

     The  company plans to invest a minimum of $500 million into its sugar operations in Niger State, with the goal of increasing production from the current 100,000 tons to over 400,000 tons annually, according to Coumantaros.

     It will allocate $100 million to establish a cassava-processing plant aimed at eliminating cassava starch imports.

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     In the full year of 2023/2024, Flour Mills spent around N1.8 trillion on raw materials resulting in its profit declining by 91 per cent.

     Coumantaros also  spoke on plans to expand their breakfast cereal product line.

     Most  of the funding, according to the company, will be internally sourced. 

    Coumantaros said: “The requirement for capital is going to be very large. And of course we will be backing the majority of that, but when you grow, you can’t do everything yourself. You need to invite those experts of the best in the field to really support you and assist you and bring some of that technical expertise so we can grow more business, more jobs here in the country.”

     The company also plans to restructure its over 22 business units into five separate companies, according to the Chairman.

    “We aim to attract both technical and financial partners to support the growth of our sugar operations and food business. We have ambitious plans for investment and expansion.”

    The Chairman said  the company is looking at leveraging on the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to expand across the continent starting from West Africa.

  • Local content implementation hits 60.23%

    The rate of compliance to the local content policy has sharply risen to 60.23 percent in the last few months, thus raising the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    The Chairman of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, John Coumantaros, who stated this recently in Lagos, noted that due to the federal government’s backward integration policy and efforts of key players in the nation’s manufacturing industry, local sourcing of raw materials in Nigeria has increased from 47.2 percent in 2014 to 60.23 percent in 2018.

    “While appreciating successive Federal Governments for increasingly recognizing the role of sectoral backward integration policies, which has provided incentives to looking inwards for inputs; as stakeholders in the private sector, I believe we must take active roles in promoting manufacturing competitiveness in the country,” he said.

    Coumantaros attributed the success achieved in the backward integration compliance to the support of the government towards the real sector.

    Stressing the need to enforce compliance, he expressed that it was important to promote the real sector of the economy as it will stimulate sustainable economic growth which will reflect on the welfare of the populace.

    “The first sector that comes to mind when you review the real sector of any economy is the manufacturing sector given its role in engendering inclusive growth. However, the contribution of the manufacturing sector to gross domestic product (GDP) in Nigeria is low when compared to other emerging economies, a development that has been widely attributed to the country’s crude oil based, mono-product economy. Hence, there is a need to look inwards to explore ways of increasing the sector’s paltry 8.9 percent contribution to GDP,” he stressed.

    Manufacturing, he noted, “Is essentially the main component of all value chains. Manufacturing can be accomplished through the efficient and careful development of value chains that facilitate higher-value-added processing using locally produced inputs and services in production. For manufacturing in Nigeria to truly succeed and play its rightful role in being a significant contributor to GDP, we must look at all aspects of the value chain – from inbound raw material procurement all the way to sales and after-sales service.

    “While appreciating successive federal governments for increasingly recognizing the role of sectoral backward integration policies, which has provided incentives to look inward for inputs; as stakeholders in the private sector, I believe we must take active roles in promoting manufacturing competitiveness in the country. For instance, due to government’s backward integration policy and effort of key players in the Nigerian manufacturing industry, local sourcing of raw materials in Nigeria has increased from 47.2% in 2014 to 60.23% in 2018 according to a survey conducted by MAN.”

     

  • Our N39.9b rights issue will lead to better growth, says Flour Mills

    The board of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc has assured the investing public that the ongoing rights issue by the food-focused company will lead to more sustainable growth and better returns.

    Addressing the investing public during the presentation of the underlying facts on the rights issue yesterday at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), directors of Flour Mills of Nigeria said the company would use the net proceeds of the offer to strengthen its balance sheet and support business growth.

    Flour Mills of Nigeria is raising N39.85 billion through a rights issue of 1.476 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N27 per share. The rights have been pre-allotted to shareholders on the basis of nine new ordinary shares of 50 kobo each for every 16 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each held as at Friday December 8, 2017. Application list for the rights opened on Monday January 15, 2018 and will run till the close of business on Wednesday February 21, 2018.

    Chairman, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, Mr. John Coumantaros, said the rights issue would be used primarily to pay down some of the company’s outstanding short-term debt in order to reduce its finance costs, which have increased significantly in recent times.

    He said the company would maintain and expand its market leadership across all its five core businesses and value chains.

    He outlined that Flour Mills would improve route and extend its distribution footprint and launch new innovative consumer products like Gari, Margarine, spread, soya and vegetable oil among others.

    He added that the company will continue to focus on supply chain security through import substitution and value chain diversification.

    “We will also continue to improve in our processing facilities and manufacturing excellence, which will lead to productivity and efficiency gains,” Coumantaros said.

  • Fed Govt unveils N45b sugar project in Northwest

    Fed Govt unveils N45b sugar project in Northwest

    The Federal Government has inaugurated a N45billion integrated, state-of-the-art sugar project in Sunti, Niger State, Northwest Nigeria.

    The project, wholly owned by the Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc (FMN) and comprising a 16,500 hectare sugarcane estate and mill, is part of the Ministry of Industry and Investment’s approved Backward Integration Programme (BIP) for the production of local sugar in line with the provisions of the National Sugar Master Plan.

    Already, the company has invested N16 billion while the entire project is expected to be completed and commissioned before the end of 2016.  On completion, the project is expected to produce 100, 000 metric tons of sugar annually; create 15,000 direct and indirect jobs, generate 10megawatts (Mw) of electricity, produce animal feed and fertiliser as a by-product and save the country over $50million yearly in foreign exchange.

    Speaking at the inauguration of the projectyesterday, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, said the event represented a major milestone in President Goodluck Jonathan’s economic diversification efforts.

    Aganga noted that the implementation of the National Sugar Master Plan was an integral part of the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP).

    The Minister said: “Today is another historic day as it represents another milestone in the implementation of the National Sugar Master Plan, an integral part of the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP), which was launched by our President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, in line with his Transformation Agenda.

    “As part of the NIRP, we have developed the National Sugar Master Plan as one of the sector-specific policies to diversify the Nigerian economy because we were importing about 97 per cent of the sugar we consume in this country when we can produce sugar from sugarcane. Also, from the raw materials of producing sugar, we can generate electricity, produce ethanol and animal feeds.”

    Aganga, who expressed satisfaction with the  level of implementation of the new National Sugar Master Plan, said the country was on course towards achieving economic diversification. He said the Federal Government would continue to provide conducive environment and right incentives to attract and sustain investments across the country.

    He said: “In 2012, President Jonathan approved the National Sugar Master Plan because for a long time, we have relied heavily on exporting one commodity (crude oil) despite the fact that our country is blessed with about 84 million hectares of arable land. And for decades, we pursued a wrong policy of exporting crude oil and using the proceeds to buy back refined petroleum products and created jobs for other countries. The current decline in price of oil has reinforced the need for us as a country to take proactive steps to diversify our economy through industrialization.

    “Today, I have come to see the progress that Flour Mills has made in terms of adhering strictly to the Sugar Master Plan. Although I receive regular updates from the National Sugar Development Council and all the sugar companies, I still consider it very important to come to see things by myself; and I am satisfied with the level of investment and work that is going on here.

    “Having gone round the multi-billion-naira facility, I can say that the company has fully embraced the new Sugar Master Plan and is fully implementing their Backward Integration Programme as approved by my ministry. One striking thing about the company’s BIP is that they are doing the sugarcane plantation side by side with rice production, thereby, keying into commodity-based industrialisation and import-substitution.

    ”This is in line with Federal Government’s strategies for diversifying our nation’s economy, and we are on course towards achieving that. We will continue to provide the conducive environment and right incentives to attract and sustain more investments across all sectors of the Nigerian economy.”

    Chairman, Flour Mills Nigeria Plc, Mr. John Coumantaros, commended President Jonathan and Mr. Aganga for initiating and implementing  the National Sugar Policy, adding that the company would continue to take advantage of government’s investment-friendly policies and incentives to invest more in the country.

  • Flour Mills donates N200m, foods to flood victims

    FOOD giant, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, has donated N200 million to the Flood Relief Committee of the Federal Government for people affected by flood.

    In addition, truck loads of food items produced by Flour Mills worth N72 million have been despatched to 14 states.

    The trucks loaded with bags of rice, Semovita, Goldenvita, Spaghetti and Noodles are distributed to government officials in state capitals.

    In a statement, Flour Mills Group Managing Director, Chief Emmanuel Ukpabi said the firm regretted the devastation caused to people, homes, farmlands and structures by the disaster which affected many states.

    He praised the Federal, state and local governments for the considerable efforts and resources deployed towards providing relief to victims and families in distress.

    Chief Ukpabi stated that in the spirit of corporate citizenship and in line with the company’s corporate social responsibility, Flour Mills has decided to support and complement Government’s efforts in caring for the needy and the homeless.