Johnvents Industries Redeems N5.5bn Commercial Paper
Fidelis David in Akure
An indigenous agribusiness and manufacturing group, Johnvents Industries Limited has redeemed its series one commercial papers obligation totaling N5.5 billion.
The Group Managing Director of Johnvents Industries Limited, Mr. John Alamu, who disclosed this while speaking in Akure, the Ondo State capital, said the commercial paper was issued in December 2022.
Alamu explained that the transformation of the company had been superlative since it came into existence in 2016, saying the revenues of the company has leaped from approximately N2.8 billion in 2019 to N59 billion in 2022.
He said apart from this, the company has grown from a small commodity trading operation to a full-fledged food and agribusiness group encompassing semi-finished and consumer goods, commodities trading as well as logistics.
The MD said the exceptional development facilitated the successful registration of a N30billion Commercial Paper Programme in October 2022, shortly after which the company raised N5.5 billion through its Series 1 Commercial Paper Issuance to meet working capital requirements.
According to him, “We deeply appreciate the support of the Nigerian institutional investor community in the rapid expansion of our business. As we continue in our quest to build Africa’s largest and most successful food and agribusiness group, the Board of Johnvents is committed to maintaining the confidence of its investors, and to consistently surpassing the expectations of stakeholders and regulators in the domestic and international financial markets.
“Johnvents is rated BBB by GCR Ratings Limited and BBB+ by Datapro Limited. The GCR rating (upgraded from BBB-) depicts that Johnvents’ competitive position has been significantly enhanced by integrating a 15,000-ton cocoa processing plant acquired in 2021 and subsequent acquisitions of other processing assets.”
He noted that the firm operates a group structure, with six businesses committed to driving sustainable growth across the entire agricultural value chain, including production, processing, manufacturing and trade of commodity and food products in Nigeria and the rest of the world.
“The company has become one of Nigeria’s largest exporters of processed cocoa butter and powder, with final customers, including international blue-chip food and confectionery companies,” he added.
Also speaking, the Managing Director, Investment Banking at United Capital Plc, Dr. Gbadebo Adenrele, stated that United Capital Plc is pleased to have acted as Lead Arranger to Johnvents Industries Limited on its successful capital raising rounds and the repayment of N5.5 billion being the first series in its Commercial Paper Issuance Programme.
