Nestle Nigeria Needs to Cut Marketing Cost -Shareholders

• Nestle Nigeria Needs to Cut Marketing Cost -Shareholders

Shareholders of one of the largest food and beverage companies in Africa, Nestle Nigeria, has expressed concerns over the huge amount of money being spent on marketing by the management of the company.

The company spent N43.4 billion on marketing and distribution in 2018, according to the released financial results.

Shareholders advised the company to look for cost-effective ways of marketing and distributing goods across the country.

Addressing shareholders at the firm’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday in Lagos, Mr David Ifezulike, Chairman of Nestle Nigeria, said going forward, “We will continue to leverage our research and development capacities to delight our consumers while creating value for our business and everyone across our value chain.”

He further stated that, “We are confident in the capacity of our people, our dedication to deliver high quality, tasty nutrition choices to our consumers and the continuous support of our stakeholders, we look towards 2019 with cautious optimism.”

Mr Ifezulike noted that the changed in the business environment in 2018 and the influx of competing products impacted the company performance.

“On the average, spending power further decreased due to the elevated inflationary pressures as we witnessed more value-driven consumption decisions,” he said, adding that despite the harsh operating environment, revenue increased by nine per cent while profit after tax rose 28 percent.

According to him, the board has recommended a final dividend of N30.517 billion or N38.50 per ordinary share in line with the policy of making shareholders the ultimate beneficiaries of the company’s business growth.

“As in the past years, Nestle Nigeria brands remained leaders in their categories even with the influx of competitive brands in the market,” noting that marketing initiatives focused on creating nutrition awareness for its consumers who trust the brand’s ability to deliver high quality nutritious products.