The Nation Newspaper

Tag: John Holt

  • John Holt marks 120 years with IDPs, others

    The donation of products and cash to orphans, patients, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and prison inmates in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Maiduguri and Enugu was the hallmark of activities by John Holt Plc to mark her 120 years of existence. The giant conglomerate described the gesture as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, even as it restated its commitment to positively impact on humanity by giving back to the society.

    It Group Managing Director, Dr. Christopher Ezeh, who stated this during a visit to inmates of Ikoyi Prisons, noted that John Holt Plc will continue to support good causes in the society, especially those that have a direct impact on human development.

    John Holt Plc, according to him, will continue to seize opportunities to add value, listing such opportunities to include support provided through entrepreneurship programmes, protection of vulnerable groups, and others. “It is our own way of adding value to the society, a society to which we owe the longevity of our operations,” he said.

    Among beneficiaries of the latest gestures are IDPs at Muna IDP Camp, Maiduguri, Borno State; Our Savior Orphanage, Port Harcourt; Indigent Patients at Braitwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital, Port Harcourt and Red Cross Motherless Babies Home, Enugu.

    Others are Indigent Patients at University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku Ozara, Enugu State; Unity Orphanage Home, Gwako, Gwagwalada, Abuja; Indigent Patients at National Hospital Abuja; Indigent Patients at Lagos Island General Hospital, and others.

  • John Holt explores new businesses to drive growth

    John Holt explores new businesses to drive growth

    John Holt Plc, one of Nigeria’s oldest conglomerates, is exploring new business opportunities to mitigate import-related influence on its businesses and strengthen its domestic products and businesses. These moves come as John Holt seeks to expand its businesses in Nigeria as it struggles with the external shocks due to Naira depreciation.

    In the business outlook for the conglomerate, the board of the company said it has been exploring for new business opportunities including provision of electrical transformers, electrical equipment and expansion of fire control business to widen the revenue base of the group.

    The conglomerate said it was seeking investments in businesses that are less import dependent as devaluation of the Naira remains a drain on bottomline.

    According to the company, with its business interests ranging from engineering, leasing, trade and distribution, the devaluation of the Naira was a drain on bottom lines since most of its raw materials and equipments are imported.

    “Because we are an import dependent company, we had N500 million wiped out because of devaluation,” the company stated.

    The board of the conglomerate said it has started implementing a number of measures to improve liquidity and profitability of the group as well as strategies to enhance revenue and control costs.

    The board of the company said it has also been working on injection of long-term funds in order to ensure that the company has adequate resources to continue in operation for the foreseeable future.

    The audited report for the period ended September 30, 2015 showed that John Holt’s debt to adjusted capital ratio fell to 43 percent in 2015 as against 51 percent in 2014. Finance cost dipped by 7.60 percent to N231 million. The decrease in the debt to adjusted capital ratio for the group during the year resulted primarily from decrease in debt by N400 million from N1.8 billion in 2014 as against N1.4 billion in 2015, according to the company’s 2015 audited financial statement.

    Despite infrastructure deficits such as bad roads and  huge energy costs that spiral up operating expenses of companies in Africa largest oil producer Nigeria, John Holt was able to reduce costs as administrative expenses fell by 20.10 percent to N682 million in 2015 from N856 million in 2014.Distribution expenses were down by 20.30 percent to N856 million.

    The company spent less money on operating expenses to generate every unit of product as operating expense margin (OPEX) margin fell to 43.21 percent in 2015 from 48.10 percent in 2014.Cost of sales was down by 3.80 percent to N1.77 billion, thanks to effective cost control mechanisms put in place by management.

    John Holt attributed the slow growth in sales to reduced patronage from major customers in the oil and gas industry that got hit by the oil price crash.

    The report showed that group turnover dropped from N2.82 billion in 2014 to N2.43 billion in 2015. Gross profit also dropped from N967 million to N655 million. With exchange loss of N528 million in 2015, operating profit shrank from N677 million to N60 million. While finance costs reduced from N250 million to N231 million, the group incurred a loss before tax of N171 million in 2015 as against profit before tax of N427 million in 2014. After taxes, net profit of N591 million in 2014 turned into a net loss of N254 million in 2015. Earnings per share reversed from N1.52 in 2014 to a loss of 65 kobo in 2015.

  • John Holt explores new businesses to drive growth

    John Holt explores new businesses to drive growth

    John Holt Plc, one of Nigeria’s oldest conglomerates, is exploring new business opportunities to mitigate import-related influence on its businesses and strengthen its domestic products and businesses. These moves come as John Holt seeks to expand its businesses in Nigeria as it struggles with the external shocks due to Naira depreciation.

    In the business outlook for the conglomerate, the board of the company said it has been exploring for new business opportunities including provision of electrical transformers, electrical equipment and expansion of fire control business to widen the revenue base of the group.

    The conglomerate said it was seeking investments in businesses that are less import dependent as devaluation of the Naira remains a drain on bottomline.

    According to the company, with its business interests ranging from engineering, leasing, trade and distribution, the devaluation of the Naira was a drain on bottom lines since most of its raw materials and equipments are imported.

    “Because we are an import dependent company, we had N500 million wiped out because of devaluation,” the company stated.

    The board of the conglomerate said it has started implementing a number of measures to improve liquidity and profitability of the group as well as strategies to enhance revenue and control costs.

    The board of the company said it has also been working on injection of long-term funds in order to ensure that the company has adequate resources to continue in operation for the foreseeable future.

    The audited report for the period ended September 30, 2015 showed that John Holt’s debt to adjusted capital ratio fell to 43 percent in 2015 as against 51 percent in 2014. Finance cost dipped by 7.60 percent to N231 million. The decrease in the debt to adjusted capital ratio for the group during the year resulted primarily from decrease in debt by N400 million from N1.8 billion in 2014 as against N1.4 billion in 2015, according to the company’s 2015 audited financial statement.

    Despite infrastructure deficits such as bad roads and  huge energy costs that spiral up operating expenses of companies in Africa largest oil producer Nigeria, John Holt was able to reduce costs as administrative expenses fell by 20.10 percent to N682 million in 2015 from N856 million in 2014.Distribution expenses were down by 20.30 percent to N856 million.

     

     

     

     

    The company spent less money on operating expenses to generate every unit of product as operating expense margin (OPEX) margin fell to 43.21 percent in 2015 from 48.10 percent in 2014.Cost of sales was down by 3.80 percent to N1.77 billion, thanks to effective cost control mechanisms put in place by management.

    John Holt attributed the slow growth in sales to reduced patronage from major customers in the oil and gas industry that got hit by the oil price crash.

    The report showed that group turnover dropped from N2.82 billion in 2014 to N2.43 billion in 2015. Gross profit also dropped from N967 million to N655 million. With exchange loss of N528 million in 2015, operating profit shrank from N677 million to N60 million. While finance costs reduced from N250 million to N231 million, the group incurred a loss before tax of N171 million in 2015 as against profit before tax of N427 million in 2014. After taxes, net profit of N591 million in 2014 turned into a net loss of N254 million in 2015. Earnings per share reversed from N1.52 in 2014 to a loss of 65 kobo in 2015.

    John Holt, a subsidiary of John Holt & Company (Liverpool) Limited, United Kingdom, was incorporated in Nigeria in August 1961 and was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in May 1974. John Holt & Company currently holds 53 per cent majority equity stake in the Nigerian subsidiary.

    The principal activities of the group include assembly, sale, leasing and servicing of power and cooling equipment, sale and servicing of fire fighting vehicles and equipment, sale and servicing of marine equipment, marine transport, warehousing and distribution services, property services and construction.

     

     

  • N4.2b debts : Auditors worry over survival of John Holt

    N4.2b debts : Auditors worry over survival of John Holt

    The survival of John Holt Plc, one of Nigeria’s oldest and earliest-listed companies, is under threat, according to the latest audit of the conglomerate.

    John Holt was incorporated in Nigeria in 1961 and was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in 1974.

    The latest audit of the 54-year-old conglomerate obtained by The Nation indicated that its liabilities exceeded its assets by a whooping N4.2 billion while it has a negative shareholders’ fund of N3.6 billion.

    External auditors to John Holt, BDO Professional Services said the liabilities, negative shareholders’ funds and reversion to loss indicate “the existence of a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern”.

    Lagos-based BDO Professional Services is a member of BDO International Limited, a United Kingdom company limited by guarantee.

    According to the audit for the year ended September 30, 2015, the company’s negative debt to adjusted capital ratio deteriorated from 51 per cent in 2014 to 38 per cent in 2015 as a result of loss incurred in 2015.

    “This is an indication that there is serious shortage in the company’s working capital requirements and the company’s future operations are threatened. To meet the shortfall, the shareholders and the parent company would have to introduce additional capital not only to provide for the shortfall but also future operations,” the audited report stated.

    The directors of the company concurred that while the financial statements of the were prepared on a going concern basis, the validity of the going concern basis will depend on the company’s shareholders to continue to provide support through provision of adequate working capital facilities and the company’s bankers and major creditors continuing to provide adequate support.

    According to the report, in the absence of such financial supports by shareholders, bankers and creditors, the going concern basis would be invalid and adjustments would have to be made to reduce the value of assets to their recoverable amounts and provide for any further liabilities that may arise.

    However, the board of the conglomerate said it has started implementing a number of measures to improve liquidity and profitability of the group as well as strategies to enhance revenue and control costs.

    According to the directors, some of the ongoing measures being implemented include closure of non-performing branches disposal of properties to enhance liquidity and staff rationalisation.

    The board said it has started discussions with banks to provide the group with new enhanced facilities noting that the fresh loans may be concluded before the end of March 2016.

    The board of the company said it has also been working on injection of long-term funds while it has been exploring for new business opportunities including provision of electrical transformers, electrical equipment and expansion of fire control business to widen the revenue base of the group.

    “Based on the measures described above and after the consideration of related uncertainties, the directors have a reasonable expectation that the company will have adequate resources to continue in operation for the foreseeable future,” the audit assured.

    Audited report and accounts of John Holt Group for the year ended September 30, 2015 showed that turnover dropped from N2.82 billion in 2014 to N2.43 billion in 2015.

    Gross profit also dropped from N967 million to N655 million. With exchange loss of N528 million in 2015, operating profit shrank from N677 million to N60 million. While finance costs reduced from N250 million to N231 million, the group incurred a loss before tax of N171 million in 2015 as against profit before tax of N427 million in 2014. After taxes, net profit of N591million in 2014 turned into a net loss of N254 million in 2015. Earnings per share reversed from N1.52 in 2014 to a loss of 65 kobo in 2015.

    John Holt, a subsidiary of John Holt & Company (Liverpool) Limited, United Kingdom, was incorporated in Nigeria in August 1961 and was listed on the NSE in May 1974. John Holt & Company currently holds 53 per cent majority equity stake in the Nigerian subsidiary.