Caverton Group declares N4.3bn profit, grows 338% in 5 years

Five years after its shares were listed on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc, a foremost indigenous offshore logistics services provider, has grown in leaps and bounds. Profit After Tax (PAT) grew by 338 per cent in five years which comes to an average of 68 per cent yearly.  PAT moved from N980 milion as at December 31, 2014 to N4.3 billion as of financial year ended December 31, 2018.

Profit Before Tax (PBT) in five years also grew by 111 per cent to N5.75 as at December 31,2018, from N2.73 billion.

The Group’s asset base rose by 56 per cent from N36.63 billion as of December 31, 2014 to N56.06 billion in 2018 while shareholders’ fund reflects the confidence of shareholders in the group with a growth of 54 per cent in five years, from N11.93 billion in 2014 to N18.38 billion in 2018.

Meanwhile, net profit in the financial year ended December 31, 2018 grew by 64 per cent, from N2.62 billion in the same period of 2017 to N4.30 billion.  The net profit jump in 2018, according to Caverton Group, was driven by improved PBT. PBT growth was attributed to the group’s ability to improve its revenue base as well as maintain its cost levels. PBT stood at N5.75 billion in 2018 compared to N3.91 billion in 2017. 

The group says its shareholders’ funds, which grew by 16 per cent to close at N18.38 billion in 2018, provides ample cushion for business growth. Shareholders had N15.80 billion in the kitty of the company the preceding year.

Shareholders of the group got 25kobo per share as dividend in 2018 compared to 15kobo per share in 2017. It represents an increase of 67 per cent. But shareholders at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), which held at the Civic Centre in Lagos yesterday, asked  for more from dividend pay-out in the years ahead. Shareholders want their company to reduce the cost of borrowing and seek for cheap funds from the capital market to finance its operations and to save more money to be shared as dividends. However, Aderemi Makanjuola, Chairman of Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc, is optimistic that the entity would deliver a better performance in the year ending December 31, 2018, as he said the prospects look bright.