Edward Effah
EDWARD EFFAH, Board Chairman of Unilever Ghana PLC, has announced an increase in the company’s revenue for the 2020 financial year.
In the company’s latest financial report, Mr Effah indicated, “Our results for the year ended 2020 shows a 37 percent increase in revenue from GH¢333 million in 2019 to GH¢456 million in 2020,” indicating that the growth represented sustained momentum throughout the year despite the challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our operating loss for the year ended 2020 was GH¢22 million, which is a significant improvement from GH¢206 million for the same period in 2019. This translated into a loss after tax for the year ended 2020 of GH¢50 million against a GH¢160 million loss for the same period in 2019,” he said emphasising that “No dividends will be recommended for shareholders.”
George Owusu-Ansah, Managing Director of Unilever Ghana PLC, in a remark on the cash flow of the company, said there was significant improvement in cash and cash equivalent balance as at end year from a deficit of GH¢53million in 2019 to a deficit of GH¢0.9million in 2020.
“This performance reflects improved working capital management,” he said.
Mr Owusu-Ansah revealed that the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first quarter of 2020 threw a new challenge at humanity and business.
“Globally and in Ghana, the pandemic and the attendant lockdowns and restrictions ordered by Governments affected disposable incomes of households as businesses collapsed and individuals lost their jobs. Global raw material scarcity and congestions at ports negatively impacted Supply Chains and affected reliability and efficiency in manufacturing and service delivery.
“At Unilever Ghana PLC, we provided the necessary support to protect our staff and their families from the threat of the pandemic. We instituted COVID-19 preventative protocols at the site to protect those who necessarily had to work from the site. We supported staff who had to work from home and our field teams to improve their internet connectivity to facilitate their work and aided their care with COVID relevant PPEs.
Our staff who were unfortunately infected were supported to access and receive medical care. These interventions to protect our staff and other programs we put in to limit disruptions to our Supply Chain, has enabled us manufacture, distribute, sell and market through the pandemic,” the MD noted.
A business desk report