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Crown Flour Mill Flour Fortification Compliance Efforts Get Global Commendation

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Crown-Flour Mill Ltd- Investors King

In recognition of its efforts and investments in food fortification and infrastructure, culminating in Nigeria’s first state-of-the-art vitamin premix facility, Crown Flour Mill Limited (CFM), the flour milling subsidiary of Olam Nigeria, an agribusiness conglomerate, has received a widespread commendation for consistently delivering highly fortified, quality and affordable food staples that meet global standards and improve public health.

This assertion was made at a Food Fortification webinar, organised by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), on Wednesday, June 30, 2021, the flour milling company has successfully ramped up its food processing methodology through quality partnership and acquisition of a state-of-the-art premix facility to provide food products that improve the health of the Nigerian population.

Andreas Bluethner, Director of Nutrition at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) who moderated the panel discussion, said, “Olam’s CFM has been able to achieve 90 percent food fortification compliance in flour production to deliver foods that change the lives of people who suffer from food deficiency diseases.”

He added: “Olam’s approach offers a sound model for other food manufacturers which seek to drive business competitiveness by delivering food products that contain the right micronutrients and engender regulatory and consumer confidence.”

Speaking on CFM’s food fortification achievements, Ashish Pande, Managing Director of Crown Flour Mill Limited, highlighted that by leveraging technology, the company is able to determine and achieve food fortification data accuracy at its fully digitalized vitamins premix plant in Lagos.

He said, “CFM’s state-of-the-art vitamins premix facility delivers 99.9 percent food fortification data accuracy. We have therefore been able to choose the right level of micronutrients in all our food product processing efforts in line with global best practices and regulatory standards.”

“These quality assurance investments in our food processing facilities are delivering highly nutritious meals that are more affordable, easily accessible and instill confidence in all our products across the market.”

He cited, for instance, the affordable pricing structure and quality of bread produced by bakers who use CFM’s Mama Gold flour in their bakeries. Because our flour brands contain the right micronutrient mix and has qualities like better water absorption and taste, the bakers prefer to buy the flour brands for making bread that meets consumers’ shrinking wallet, deliver maximum returns and support healthy living.

The food fortification event was tagged “Scaling up innovation for a fortified future: fortification quality digitization”. The event provided a high-level overview of quality compliance challenges in food fortification on local and global scales; it also explored how digitization can solve the various food fortification challenges.

Panelists for the food fortification webinar were drawn from across varying areas of expertise in food processing like data analytics, IT, not-for-profit advocacy and regulatory sectors. The panelists were Dipika Matthias, Deputy Director, Nutrition, BMGF, USA; Bernard Kowatsch, Head of World Food Programme Innovation Accelerator, Italy; Ashish Pande, Managing Director, Crown Flour Mill Limited, Nigeria; Anna Zhenchuk, Managing Director, BioAnalyt, Germany; Zameer Haider, National Program Manager for Oil Fortification, Nutrition International, Pakistan; Janice Zdankus, Vice President of Innovation for Social Impact, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, USA; Harun Rashid, Chairman, Shakti Edible Oil, Bangladesh; and Imtiaz Masud, Head of QA & EMS, Bangladesh Edible Oil, Bangladesh.

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Oando Targets 100,000 Barrels Per Day Production by 2028

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Oando Plc

Nigerian energy company Oando is targeting a production of 100,000 barrels per day by 2028, following its acquisition of Eni’s Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) earlier this year.

This was disclosed by Oando Executive Director Alex Irune during an exclusive Fireside Chat at the ongoing African Energy Week: Invest in African Energies conference with Bloomberg News Correspondent Jennifer Zabasajja.

He shared the company’s future expansion plans and role in Nigeria’s energy transition and plans by the company to contribute to the 2 million barrels per day.

Mr Irune also highlighted the growing role of indigenous firms in the sector, particularly as international oil companies (IOCs) divest from onshore and shallow water assets.

“In the space of 24 months, you’re going to see about 60 percent-70 percent [of Nigeria’s production] by indigenous players, just based on the transition of IOCs to the deep offshore and the acquisitions we have seen, whether it’s Seplat, our deal or the ongoing Renaissance deal,” he said.

He also revealed that Oando is focused on maximizing the development of assets acquired through its deal, which increased its stake in OMLs 60, 61, 62 and 63 to 40 percent and nearly doubled its reserves to one billion barrels of oil equivalent.

The company’s ownership in NAOC’s joint venture assets will also grow, including 40 oil and gas fields, 12 production stations, and key infrastructure including pipelines, processing plants and the Brass River Oil Terminal.

He also noted that Oando remains open to future mergers and acquisitions across the continent.

“We’re always looking to do a deal. We stay where we have a comparative advantage, but we don’t rule out any markets. Nigeria is the first place we look – we have an immense amount of potential. As a leading energy company, we owe it to the country to reach that potential.”

Mr Irune also discussed the role of Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in strengthening the investment case, particularly for gas in Nigeria and fostering industry synergies.

The Oando-NAOC deal was the first M&A transaction following the PIA’s implementation and the company plans to leverage the deal to boost oil and gas production, with a view to supporting Nigeria’s energy transition in the future.

“In the immediate term, our focus is on producing every drop of oil we can to be able to fund that transition journey. We will use gas as a transition fuel – our assets are largely gas assets as a company, and Nigeria is largely a gas province as a country.”

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Dangote Refinery Sells Petrol At N990 Per Litre to Trucks

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Dangote Refinery

Dangote refinery has finally announced the price of premium motor spirit (PMS), popularly known as Petrol, following months of back and forth.

The company said it sells to domestic marketers at N971 per litre into ships and N990 into trucks, according to a statement signed by Anthony Chiejina, Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer and released on Sunday evening.

“Post deregulation, NNPC set the pace by selling PMS to domestic marketers at N971 per litre for sale into ships and at N990 for sale into trucks. This set the benchmark for our pricing, and we have even gone lower to sell at N960 per litre for sale into ships while maintaining N990 per litre for sale into trucks”, the company said in the statement released on its X page.

On a series of accusations and counter-accusations from IPMAN, PETROAN, and other associations, Dangote refinery said it is impossible to land petrol at a lower price than Dangote refinery’s current price, except they are importing substandard products.

“Both organisations claim that they can import PMS at lower prices than what is being sold by the Dangote Refinery. We benchmark our prices against international prices, and we believe our prices are competitive relative to the price of imports.

“If anyone claims they can land PMS at a price cheaper than what we are selling, then they are importing substandard products and conniving with international traders to dump low quality products into the country, without concern for the health of Nigerians or the longevity of their vehicles. Unfortunately, the regulator (NMDPRA) does not even have laboratory facilities which can be used to detect substandard products when imported into the country.”

The company claimed it started selling at the stated rates without knowing the exchange rate that would be used to pay for the crude purchased.

Meanwhile, the company has said an international trading company rented a depot facility close to its refinery with plans to start blending substandard products and dump them into the Nigerian market to compete with Dangote refinery’s better quality.

“This is detrimental to the growth of domestic refining in Nigeria. We should point out that it is not unusual for countries to protect their domestic industries in order to provide jobs and grow the economy. For example, the US and Europe have had to impose high tariffs on EVs and microchips in order to protect their domestic industries.”

“While we continue with our determination to provide affordable, good quality, domestically refined petroleum product in Nigeria, we call on the public to disregard the deliberate disinformation being circulated by agents of people who prefer for us to continue to export jobs and import poverty.”

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BUA Foods Revenue Surges 104%, Hits N1.07 Trillion Amidst Rising Costs

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BUA Foods Plc, one of the fastest-growing food companies in West Africa, grew revenue by 104% in the period ended September 30, 2024 to N1.070 trillion from N524.48 recorded in the same period in 2023.

The company’s cost of sales also inched higher to N736.975 billion, a 116% from N349.648 billion filed in the corresponding period of 2023 while gross profit rose by 82% to N333.820 billion.

BUA Foods spent 45% more on selling and distribution expenses at N29.319 billion in the period under review from N20.273 billion.

Also, more money was spent on administration as administrative expenses jumped 84% from N7.913 billion to N14.545 billion. During the period, the company spent N43.862 billion on operating expenses, representing a 56% increase from the N28.185 billion spent in 2023.

Still, the 104% increase in revenue bolstered operating profit by 101% to N315.126 billion from N156.883 billion in 2023.

Loss due to foreign exchange fluctuation dragged on the company’s profit before income tax in the first nine months of the year as N87.961 billion was lost due to Naira devaluation to contain profit before tax at N215.657 billion.

Profit after tax increased by 91% from N105.618 billion in 2023 to N201.389 billion.

Commenting on the results, Engr. (Dr.) Ayodele Abioye, the Managing Director, said “We are thrilled to have sustained a remarkable growth trajectory, underscoring the impact of our strategy, innovative product development, and steadfast commitment to quality, even in the face of a challenging business climate.

“Revenue grew by 104% to N1.07 Trillion compared to the same period last year, while our gross profit stands at N333.8 billion, reflecting a growth of 82%. We saw the benefits of our production capacity expansion and product innovation, as we witnessed an 11% growth in aggregate volume which has further strengthened our position within the industry.

“Looking ahead, we will remain steadfast in addressing current food supply challenges by leveraging newly commercialized supply chain assets across our business divisions. We would maintain focus on driving internal efficiencies for business growth towards delivering long-term shareholder value.

“We thank our stakeholders, particularly our customers, and consumers for their love for the brand even as we continue to nourish lives.”

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