Soaring High in The Face of The Historic 2021 Global Corporate Challenges
L-,R : Non executive directors, NIPCO Plc – Alhaji Sani Yau; Mrs Grace Idowu; Mr Ramesh Virwani and Alhaji Habu Jajere during the company’s 18th Annual General Meeting at Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja .
A welcome address by NIPCO Plc’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Suresh Kumar, at the Occasion of the 18th Annual General Meeting of the Company.
Distinguished Shareholders, Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is with immense pleasure that I welcome you to the 18th Annual General Meeting of the company in our continuous march toward making the organization a reference point in the nation’s Oil and Gas Industry. Our convergence today will, among others, provide a veritable avenue for shareholders to review the company’s performance in the Financial Year ended December 31, 2021.
The essence of my report is to give synopsis of my management team efforts in 2021 and the direction we are heading to in 2022. My statement shall also be laying bare to you esteemed investors the challenges we went through in the year under review and how we were able to navigate them.
Distinguished Shareholders, the year 2021 was incredibly challenging for the economy with Oil and Gas not the least having its fair share. The COVID-19 and its deadly variants continued to ravage most parts of the world with its impact felt in Nigeria.
The headwinds of international crude oil prices with its attendant effect on refined petroleum products had continuously increased levels of subsidy on petrol while local price of petrol remained same all through 2021 that of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) were going up.
In the LPG sector, fluctuations in product prices due to rising price of crude oil in the global market was a major threat to affordability of LPG in the domestic market. Operators are hoping that the trend could be addressed in view of its attendant effect on domestic rates of the product.
Federal Government’s efforts in ensuring that LPG price is within the reach of the populace to grow usage is commendable as the National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP) is making giant strides to improve local supplies and save the nation considerably some ancillary cost in LPG import cost.
The NGEP initiative and the declaration of the Decade of Gas hopefully could take the nation’s efforts in the gas realm to the next level. The feat, if fully actualized will undoubtedly make the sector more attractive for investors in the overall interest of all stakeholders.
Another giant effort of the Federal Government in the year under review is the promise of procuring 10million gas cylinders for marketers for onward distribution to end users. This, no doubt, will boost LPG utilization as cost of cylinders account for over 80% of accessories needed to use gas as domestic cooking fuel. Stakeholders are upbeat on this promise, hoping that if only government can walks the talk.
HUMAN CAPITAL
NIPCO’s human capital remains it’s the greatest asset over the years; a feat that continuously gladdens the heart of my management team. The employees have since the inception of the company in 2004 been the pillar upon which the continuous growth of the organization has rested upon.
Our employees are working towards ensuring that the company not only sustain her present level but also aim at higher productivity by way of creating higher value for shareholders.
Exhilarated by the unwavering commitment and resilience of the workforce over the years, management has made it a standing policy to continuously grant career elevation to encourage them to work harder.
Appreciation of the workforce through a well thought out career growth would remain a cardinal objective of my management team in response to their diligence and utmost service to the organization.
The higher level of resilience exhibited by the workforce among its peers has further brought to bear management proactivity in administering your company in the challenging business environment that persisted in 2021.
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Our drive is to impact positively on our host communities and the nation at large. We are delighted to do more when we see physical impacts of our interventions especially in education and empowerment of the citizenry.
The effective utilization, by beneficiaries of our computer laboratory project in which we offered several computers and printers to boost computer literacy in primary schools in Apapa LGA, Lagos State, is a source of our motivation for us to do more. We hope that we continue this trajectory of corporate social investment to impact more on the lives of the populace as a cardinal initiative of the company.
OUTLOOK
Against the backdrop of the opportunities being presented by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which we are hopeful to use this to further drive our mission of meeting the needs of stakeholders in a deregulated downstream sector of the nation’s Oil and Gas industry.
This year, 2022 will be very significant for operators in the hydrocarbon industry with the PIA implementation and attendant reforms, especially the deregulation of the downstream sector. Kudos to Federal Government for enacting the Act which hopefully will support growth of the hydrocarbon industry.
We hope to harness the business opportunities in the country and significantly expand our investment in the industry within the framework of right operating environment which is key in boosting investors’ confidence.
NIPCO is poised to continually take its pride of place in the context of the emerging downstream sector under the PIA. Your company will continue to be transparent, diligent, socially, responsible and operate within the ambit of good corporate governance in the best interest of stakeholders.
Also, we intend to consolidate the gains of the past years and take full advantage of the great potentials of the industry to propel your company for higher growth.
APPRECIATION
Our journey so far would not have been a remarkable one without the huge support and understanding of our numerous public. We are greatly indebted to our customers and myriad of other stakeholders including esteemed shareholders who have stood by us over the years.
We are eternally grateful to company’s indefatigable board of directors who have consistently stood solidly behind the operational undertakings while giving broad policy guidelines on the administration of your company.
I thank you all for your kind and wonderful support in the past year.
FOR: NIPCO PLC.
SURESH KUMAR
MANAGING DIRECTOR /CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER