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Austin Laz and co, Benin-based Manufacturer of building materials, thermoplastic products and refrigeration equipment, on Monday announced earnings for the full year ended December 31, 2018.
The results showed that revenue improved 25.68 percent to N393.04 million from sales recorded in the corresponding period of 2017.
Despite the revenue growth, gross profit pared by 21.6 percent to N93.32 million for the full-year 2018, on the heels of a 54.77 increase in the company’s cost of sales.
Pre-tax earnings slumped to negative territories as Austin Laz recorded a loss of N15.34 million, a significant decline from N494,000 earned in 2017.
Consequently, an increase in tax expense of 397 percent triggered a post-tax loss of N16 million compared to profit after tax of N315,000 in 2017.
Earnings per share (basic and diluted) for 2018 full year stood at a negative of 0.02 kobo from N0.00 earned in the
Austin Laz poor’s performance could be blamed on the stiff competition in building construction industry and the protracted legal dispute with the Bank of Industry (BOI) with Austin Laz claimed disrupted its activities for over four years, costing the company over N1 billion in damages.
According to a press release by Austin Laz, the BOI sealed up the company’s factory in the second year of a five (5) years loan tenor.
Austin Laz claimed that a particular product line it had sought to introduce in the Nigerian market was hindered as the full approved loan was never released.
Adding to that, the company also revealed that the illegal closure of their factory by the BOI was just a few weeks after it had concluded a refinancing arrangement in BOI’s favour.
Following the verdict of an Appeal Court sitting in Benin which ordered the immediate vacation of the BOI from Austin Laz’s premises, the local manufacturing which started the 2018 financial period on a relatively stronger foot with a slim profit of N0.074 million for Q1, was optimistic that the court’s ruling would improve business performance.
In a notice sent to the Customs Street in July of 2018, the company assured investors that the worst times were over, urging them to ‘’ look forward to a rewarding future for all stakeholders’’
Austin Laz & Co is an indigenous company with four subsidiaries in Refrigeration,
Thermoplastic, Aluminium and Building materials business.
Established in Benin, 1982, Austin Laz initial operations was in the production of ice-block making machines before it diversified operations into other divisions like manufacturing of thermoplastic coolers in 2002 and corrugation of long span Aluminium roofing sheets in 2005. The company is also involved in the manufacturing of disposable plates, spoons, and cups for both domestic and industrial use.
Austin Laz was listed on the exchange in 2012 and presently has a market capitalisation of N2.26 billion with 1,079,860 units of its shares held by about 370 Nigerians.
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