SUNDAY TRUST
Septembe, 11 ,20 11
BAGCO rakes in N18.5bn turnover T HEChaiTOIanOftheNi8 r +
ri an Bag Manufactu ring _ Co",panyPIc,(BAGGO).
Mr. John. G COnlanilUOS, Tuesday. announced significant improvements- ill the perfo nnance or the compa ny in the la5t fluanda l yraT. Speaking to the company's shareholders In Kano during lis 20 11 Annual General r.,ltC llng. the chairman disclosed that in silite of th r. challenging financial cn vircn mcl1I , the group'.!; I\lrno\'cr I1:'sc by 15.1%10 N I85
billion as against N16. 1 hillion reco rded last rC'al".
He added th3.t the company's profit before lax grew by 7 1.5% from N874 million
to N 1.5 billio n just as the com-
pany recorded a turnover of Nl1.9billion -, 3 flgurc n :prcsenling 14.4 % incrcase from last years lurnovcr. He added that profit before t1l.X for Ihl s year was NI.28 billion COUl pared to N.28 biUlon Ian year while artl!r \ u profit was N902 millio n compared to N837 bil-
lion the previous year. ln \'iew o h he pcrro rmllllce, Mr Com :mta ros announced a dividend o[ N807 million which translates to Nil kobo per ordinary share o f 50k. H e reassured shareholders that the future rem ains brighl and prombing as they wou ld continue to aplore means 10 grow the company's business. He said the company's InveSIment in stale- of- Ihl!- art production techno logy hu started paying off as the strategy h as
improved the quality o( tllel r products adding thai they ha\'e commenced the aport o f polymer b:\gs to the Uniled States of America . 111e Initial success of exportIng to th e. United Slates, he stated, has encouraged the manageme nt to explore other potential sales outlets In dlfferl!n t parts of the globe, even as be Slated that this ambitio n has given n«d to Increase the compan)'s production capacity to target the production o f an
add itiona.l ten million bags per month. O n the state oft.lle business environment, the ch airman acknowledged that though the Nigerian economy has record ed some Improvcmenl.\, Ihere was a noticeable dedine in the conI Ulner I pending in add ition 10 a faU in the exchange value of Ihe n ai ra, even as hI! o bserved thai the re we re consequenl rise in interest r:ltes as a rc.5 uit oflhe pre:ssu re of the on goi ng ban king rcforll1 on llquldity.
IMF says policymakers in advanced economies should YS(! all measures to boost growth
T
Cassava: FGtargets 51 million tonl!les by 201 5 - Adesina
T
H E federal government plans to IncrcaJe cassava pro(luction Ln the count ry from 34mi !i ion tOlln ~ t0 51 mil lion lonn~ by20l 5. 'Ole gOI'ernment also Intends locl'tate I ~~ mIllion jobs frOnllh e sub-sector, accurdlng 10 Or Akin · wunml Ad esina, the Min i ~t er of Agl'kullur: and Rural Oe\'e!upmel'lt, The minisu:r said this Fri day, In Abujaduring I ministeriru brief!llg to 'nark President Goodluck /on ad 'ans 100 days In office. lie said Ihat during thl! {'Crio<], cau.wa yi.ld would be doubled from 12.5 lo rmes per bectare to 2510 nnes I~r hectare. To rcal sc government's plan 10 re\'Olut innallse ca.ssa\"3 produclion, AdC!ina said gove rnment would rdl1lroduce the incorporation of III per cent cusanonour into 90 per cent of wheat no ur ror buJlIgbretd. He saiJ the reintroductio n of 10 pt r ,·ent caul va flour into wheat nOllr would save the governm~nt a whopplngN635 billion S p~1 armually on the Importation ofwhe!l.l. The minister S11ld Ihe govI:mml:nt. In coUaboratlon
with research Institutes, would research on the fo rtifi cation o f cauava wilh vi tamins. According to him, the research is aimed al making cassava a fuU meal. -It is also intended to improve Ihe nUlrilional values of 40,000 children who die annually rrom "itamln 'A' denciency In Nigeria:' he said. Adesina said the gove rnment is also targeti ng the usc of cassaya 10 produce dha llol. as over one billion cubic Hires of ethanol "'ould be produced annuall y from two miUion lonnes of I;a5saVll. HI! said the re\'O!utlon in the CaMaV3 sub-seclor "IUuld help to create jobs and encourage more (armers cultivate the root crop. The minister said that as part ofilse(forl5 to invigorate theagrk sc.cto r, government had consti tuted a 26-ml!mber Preside ntial Sorg.hum Tnnsfomlatlon Value Chain Committtt. He sald the oommlltee has been mandated to inCTeue prodm;Uon of sorghum from 9.32 mJllion tones 10 11.3 mlUion lones by201). The committee, Adesina said.
wtU be cx peclwlo lap Inlo the c.,isling low imJustrlalisation and rising market demand fo r w rghum 10 lransform Ihesub-sector. He said thaI IS pnt of the initiative to accelerale thl! produc· lion of wrghum, the governmenl will Introduce school feeding pmgram me using varieties of urillb made from sorghum . He said the consumption of drinks made from sorghu m 1V0uid help to bllild the nutritio nal capacity of school children In line with the MDG goals. - RKent.ly 5,000 bags o( grains was given awa)' by the gove rn ment. - But henceforth, we will stop the Idea of giving away ollr grains and put all or them Into energy food and add value to them to enable us make nlone),-: the mlnIster said. According to Adl!wunml, Nigeria spent a whopping N98 Irillion to import food from 2007 t020 10. He said thai such huge food Import bill had made Nigeria one of the largest food Lnlpo rters In the world, a sitUation, which he noted was embarnssing. (NAN)
H E International Mo netary Fund ( 1M F), says policymakcrs in ad\-a nce<l economies should use. all available lools to boost gro ... th. Ch ristine Lagarde, Managing Director o f IMF, said th;, in London wh ile calling ror a bold act ion to "weath er a dangerous new phoue of recovery-. Lagarde welco med a 117 bUlion dollar plan presented b)' PresIdent Harack Ohama 10 boosl a sluggis h economy and create jobs. Lagarde. sa.ld thai countries facC'<! wi th market pressures must pre.ss ahead with ur ge nt RJca.1 oonwlidatiOll, whUe there was scope (or slower action in other countries not at the mercyo( market (orces. Shl! said that economic pollcymakers h ad to act with -convictio n and urgency" to support a falteri ng global econo my givi ng her blessing to further quanti ta tiVI! casing. - Policymakeu should stand ready, 3.lII needed, to lake more action to support the recO\'ery, including unconventional measures: Lagarde said. She said tha t the mccting with finance mirlisl~rs and central bankers from th ~ Group ofScven
wealth), nations at a mer ting in the French city o f 1I-larscilks and the 1l'.IF annual gatheri ng In Wa~h inglon, would hel p na tions tailor policies to tackle the specWc ceoIlonl\c chillengt'll ihey fl ce. - l'or the ad\';Inced K onomies, there is no question thai fiscal sustainabllity IIIUSt be re5to rcd through credib le conJolidatio n plan". - But we also know thM COIlsolldatlng too quickly will hurt the f CC overy and ','Orscn job prospects. So, the challenge Is to find the paceof adjustment thai Is ndther 100 fast. nor 100 slow. - Monetary polky also has a role 10 play in the advanced e<:onomles. BroatlJyspeaklng, It should. remain hlghlyaccommooath'C, as the risk o( rK CS5lon oll twc.lghs the risk-ortn nl tlon; she said. Lagarde also said euro zone countries must Implement measures agreed o n financing in Jul y and warned th3 t someofEuropc's banks would need more capital. -The road ahead maybe rockr. but a way forwa rd c.x.lsl5 lf w~ act now. With each country playi ng their part, we can Identi(y the ac tions necdeJ to achieve: stron g, sustainable and balanced growth; she uld. (ReulerslNAN)
CBN urges Nigerians to respect naira notes R Charl es Olorunda, DirKlor of Currency Operalion3 al the Celltral Bank of Nigeria (CBN), recent.ly 3dvised Nigerians to desist rrom abll5ing the nair;ll notes. Qlorunda, who ga\'C the advice at a se.nsitisation canlpaign on the. abllse of the nain In Yenagoa, Barelsa State. said that offenders will be liable 10 siJ. months ImprlsollOlenl or a fine of NSO, 000 or
M
both.
-It is an offence to tear, wri te on or squctte the naira In any form thal constitutes an abuse.. - It is cquallyan o((ence tOKI! or buy the naira. We have. empowered the police 10 arresl and pros«ute anybody caught abusing the oaira.he said. Oloruoda who WIS represented by Prince B;ull Udo-Utun, CBN branchcontroUer In Yenagoa cases, said lhat there were r;IImpant
of abuse of naIra noles. He Slid that the scnsitisation exercise. was Imperaliye to CTc-ate awarencss on the need 10 accord the naira Its due ro-pect as a symbol o(natlonal identity. The C ON official said Ihat the apex bank, hi d since its Inception In 1959, in iti~ led policies Ind programmes tha t had impacted positl\'CI)' on the IIns o( Nigerians. liesald the C8N has promoted a new trend In the cvulution ohhe Nigerian currenc), in her effort to stem the abuse of the naira. Olorunda also said tbat the sensitisation campaign is neccs.sary to protect the nltlons currency and ensure that II wu dunble. NAN reports that the event was attended by stakeholders in the banking community, lransport worke rs, traders, bureau de change operatorsu wdI.s market wom~n. (NAN)