Despite the abysmal macro-economic indices that have headlined businesses in Nigeria, especially in the pharmaceutical industry, May & Baker Nig. Plc, has rekindled hopes for the much- anticipated economic revival of the country, as it presented its operational scorecard for the outgoing year, 2022.
During the End of Year Media Parley with journalists in Lagos, on Wednesday, 21 December, 2022, the foremost Nigerian pharmaceutical company reiterated its commitment towards sustaining its core nationalist values with projects and programmes, aimed at promoting the culture of medicine security as well as creating employment opportunities for Nigerians.
Despite the gloomy outlook of the nation’s economy, May & Baker has continued to grow its business while keeping faith with its commitment to quality through adherence to regulatory compliance, manufacturing excellence, strong supply chain capabilities coupled with the unflinching support of its Board of Directors.
According to the company’s Managing Director, Pharm. Patrick Ajah, “Our people and our business have delivered strong results spanning January 2022 to September 2022.” And while many Nigerian companies, especially are laying off staff due to the gloomy outlook of the nation’s economy, May & Baker is employing more hands as it has somehow succeeded in expanding its product lines and operational capacity.
Pharm. Ajah, further disclosed that May & Baker’s total revenue grew from N8.1B from January-September 2021, to N10.3B in January-September 2022, representing a growth of about 27 per cent. More so, the company’s Profit Before Tax grew from N1.3B (January-September, 2021) to N1.7B (January-September, 2022), representing about 31 per cent growth with a working capital improvement from N5.3B from (January-September, 2021) to N6.5B in (January-September, 2022), representing a growth of about 23 per cent.
Despite the operational odds militating against the pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria, Pharm. Ajah added that May & Baker has remained committed to the provision of quality medicines in the West African sub-region with its huge investments in the marketing and promotion of key brands such as the famous M&B Paracetamol. This is in addition to the launch of new products such as the anti-malarial Artelum Combo and two nature care products for male fertility and pain, respectively – D-man and Boslan.
On the company’s top priorities for 2023, Ajah noted that more investments will be made towards solidifying operations and market performance. “In the course of 2022, we have made some investments in capacity expansion in the factory to take care of our volume growth and increasing demands for contract manufacturing from local and international companies
“We will also be making significant investments in new machines for our paracetamol plant and the pharmacentre to ensure we are able to meet our growing demands both for new and existing products,” he said.
For the commencement of the long-awaited local vaccine manufacturing, Pharm. Ajah disclosed that the groundbreaking ceremony would happen in the second quarter of 2023, as the Federal Executive Council has approved the first part of the MOU of Biovaccines with the Federal Ministry of Health for the supply of routine immunisation vaccines.
“This is the first/major step towards vaccine production in Nigeria, as this allows Biovaccines to commence the engagement with the chosen technology transfer partners and subsequently initiate the design and construction of the Greenfield project. We are optimistic that the groundbreaking ceremony for the vaccine production facility will happen before Q2 to Q3 of 2023,” Ajah noted.
On the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility efforts, he disclosed that May & Baker has contributed immensely by donating life-saving medicines to several NGOs for community health programmes and medical outreaches.
“We have supported and donated various items to the less privileged, including the school for the blind and orphanages, while also rendering our steadfast support to various associations and meaningful causes such as gender-based violence, support for medical outreaches, especially to victims of the recent flood disasters.
“Our partnership with the Lagos State Ministry of Environment is ongoing and our Nature Care division, with its natural products, has also supported Sickle Cell patients through donations and medical support for Non-Governmental Organisations that manage such conditions,” he said.
