NIGERIA – Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc has listed a new N29.89bn (US$78.3m) Tranche A and B bonds to diversify its funding sources from the Nigerian capital market, with the hope of enhancing growth and development of the company.
The food and the agro-allied company which has remained Nigeria’s largest and oldest integrated agro-allied business with a broad profile and robust Pan-Africa distribution, issued the bonds under its N70 billion Bond Issuance Programme, reports Nairametrics.
According to the reports, the Senior Unsecured bond listing includes an N4.89bn (US$12.5m) under Series 4 Tranche A of the bond issuance programme, at a 5.5% rate for 5 years, due by 2025, and a N25bn (US$65.5m) under Series 4 Tranche B of the same program at a 6.25% rate for a tenure of 7 years, due by 2027.
The bond proceeds will be used to refinance existing debt obligations. It will also help the company take collaborative actions to diversify the company’s financing options beyond expensive short-term debt with longer-tenured and lower price funding to optimize capital structure and reduce financing cost.
“The company remains passionate about feeding the nation to improve the quality of living for Nigerians through increased production and investments in backward integration.”
FMN Group Managing Director, Mr. Omoboyede Olusanya
While speaking about the Credit Rating of the Programme, Group Managing Director of FMN, Mr. Omoboyede Olusanya disclosed that the company’s credit rating as well as the operational financing of the group have improved considerably.
“We are delighted with the response from the market, we are happy to be listed. We are introducing an N29.9 billion (US$78.3m) listing under an N70 billion (US$183.4m) bond issuance cover; we will continue to raise funding to diversify our funding sources.
“The company remains passionate about feeding the nation to improve the quality of living for Nigerians through increased production and investments in backward integration,” he said.
The food business group reported a 31% growth in revenue for the six months ended 30th September 2020, to N355.1 billion (US$929.8m).
During the period under-review, it’s profit before tax was N14.6 billion (US$38.2m), a 69% jump compared to N8.6 billion (US$22.5m) in 2019.
Recently the agro-allied company expanded its product portfolio by becoming AgBiTech LLC’s exclusive distributor of a biological tool known as Fawligen aimed to prevent the infestation of Fall Armyworm (FAW) in Nigeria.
The partnership was entered through FMN’s subsidiary Golden Agri Inputs Limited (GAIL).
Fawligen, produced by the global leader and innovator of biological pest control products AgBiTech LLC’s, is deemed to offer Nigerian farmers the long-awaited assistance to the rampant infestation of the invasive pest which was first detected in the country in 2016 as its primary origin.
The product belongs to the new IRAC mode of action Group 31 (host-specific occluded pathogenic viruses).
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