The cardinal role the media plays in shaping the market success of top brands has been commended by the management of May & Baker Plc, as it hosted a cross-section of Nigerian media practitioners to a special end of year media luncheon, at its head office in Ikeja, Lagos on Monday, December 20, 2021
Welcoming journalists to the event, Managing Director, May & Baker Plc, Pharm. Patrick Ajah, observed that the press has become an integral and indispensable component of progress in the society.
“The press, apart from being a ‘powerful engine of progress’, has more or less become the thought and conscience of society. At May and Baker, we value the cordial relationship we have enjoyed with you, hence, it’s fitting for us to have this meeting to bring you up to speed with our recent activities and future plans. I would like to appreciate all of you for finding time, out of your busy schedules to attend this meeting”, he said.
While enumerating the host of challenges that bedeviled the economy in 2021, Pharm Ajah noted that May and Baker was able to weather the storm, against all odds and recorded significant progress in its operations.
He said: “Anybody living in Nigeria does not need to be informed about the hard economic realities we are faced with. The challenges of the economy are daunting. From the increase in petroleum products prices, shortage of foreign exchange (forex), the consequential high exchange rates, and of course, let’s not forget the lingering global social disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic”.
Speaking further on the economic debacle that jolted many companies, Pharm. Ajah added that the huge increase in cost of raw materials; some more than 100 per cent, significant delays and high cost of shipment and even custom duties and a seemingly worsening security situation in the country, made many locations inaccessible for business, thereby making business a herculean task in 2021.
“We know that many companies have either gone down or seriously downsized, in order to survive. We are grateful to God that, even in these tough situations, we have managed to make a significant progress in our operations”, he said.
On the company’s performance in the year under review, Pharm. Ajah noted that, though they are not able to give full figures of their financial results for the out-going year, however, the first three quarters of the year pointed to positive signals of where the company shall be at full year.
“Despite the challenges mentioned above, I am glad to say that Our Total Revenue grew from 6.4B (Jan-Sept. 2020) to 8.1B (Jan-Sept. 2021) which represents about 25% growth”, he added.
According to him, for the first time in the history of the company, by the end of 2021, May and Baker PLC would have reached a 10B naira revenue threshold, in spite of the worsening forex crisis that had forced them to sometimes patronize the parallel market for forex. What this means is that, without the forex crisis, the company would have recorded a better result.
On what the future holds for May& Baker, Pharm. Ajah reiterated the company’s vision to be a leading healthcare brand in Sub-Saharan Africa. In fulfillment of this vision, the pharma company has continued to be at the forefront of many innovations and projects such as the completion of its herbal/nutraceutical facility which will significantly increase its capacity to manufacture and commercialize its herbal medicine for the management of sickle-cell anaemia – Niclovix.
The medicine is a product of research from the Nigerian Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD). With this and many other problem-solving initiatives, the year 2022 for May and Baker, will witness the breaking of new grounds, according to Pharm Ajah.
