UAC of Nigeria Plc on Monday reported N4.702 billion loss after tax for the 2022 financial year as N3.6 billion operating loss from the animal feeds and other edibles unit offset the N3 billion profit achieved in the paints unit.

Revenue grew by 8% to N109 billion on positive revenue growth of 5% from animal feeds and other edibles business unit, 25.1% from paints and 39.3% from quick-service restaurants.

The company disclosed in its unaudited financial results obtained by Investors King.

UAC’s gross profit dipped 13% to N15 billion on rising input costs while the company posted N1.3 billion operating loss, down from N5 billion achieved in 2021. Loss before tax stood at N3.4 billion in the period under review.

Moving forward, the company said it has completed groupwide ERP implementation to SAP S/4 Hana focused on enhancing controls.

N2.8 billion was invested to increase SWAN spring water capacity 3x. Another N1.2 billion was invested in the Mr Bigg’s and Debonairs Pizza restaurant network.

Loss per share was 121 kobo in the 2022 financial year compared to 63 Kobo earnings per share recorded in the corresponding year of 2021.

Free cash flow, however, improved from -N19.1 billion in December 2021 to N10.7 billion, largely due to the company’s improved working capital management in FY 2022.

Commenting on the results, Group Managing Director, Fola Aiyesimoju, stated: “Our profitability was negatively impacted by losses in our animal feeds segment, which more than offset contributions from other segments. Our businesses grappled with escalating costs particularly energy, distribution, and finance costs which negatively impacted performance.

“Tighter working capital management resulted in N10.7bn free cash flow across the UAC Group. We will execute growth initiatives with caution until macroeconomic conditions improve.”

Uk-Based electric vehicle maker Arrival has disclosed plans to downsize its workforce by 50% which is about 800 employees, as it plans to reduce operating costs.

The automaker revealed that the restructuring was necessitated by laying off half of its workforce, as it plans to preserve cash.

The company via a statement, “When combined with other cost reductions in real estate and third-party spending, the company expects to halve the ongoing cash cost of operating the business to approximately $30 million per quarter”.

In its third-quarter report released in November last year, the company disclosed that it had $330 million of cash on hand, noting that it will provide further details of its business plan on the 9th of March this year.

Also commenting on its proposed layoff plan, Arrival’s new CEO Igor Torgov disclosed that the decision to lay off some part of its employees was a tough one, however noting that the company is committed to supporting them during this difficult period.

In his words,

“The actions support our journey to become a champion in innovative products and new more efficient methods of vehicle production, particularly in the important U.S market for commercial electric vehicles.

“We are keenly aware that these decisions, while necessary will have a profound impact on a significant number of our colleagues. We are 100% committed to supporting our employees during this difficult process”.

Investors King understands that this is the third time since July last year that Arrival has taken drastic measures to stay viable. For months, the automaker has been struggling to make do with its limited resources even as it seeks to kick off serial production of its main product, an electric van.

It is however interesting to note that the EV maker in November last year, got a delisting warning from Nasdaq because its stock price was trading at a very low price.