Julius Berger Nigeria Plc Wants to Diversify into Agro-Processing

Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, the construction giant that has dominated Nigeria’s civil engineering space for many years, informed the Nigerian Stock Exchange earlier today, about its intention to diversify into agro-processing.

According to a corporate disclosure that was seen by Business Elites Africa, “the board of directors and the executive management of Julius Berger strongly believes that this diversification direction would support the continued success of the Group in the future and align with the strategic objective of the Government to stimulate value creation in Nigeria.”

The decision of diversification was approved during a board meeting held on the 22nd of September. The statement further disclosed that the decision was made after considering the prevailing political, economic, and structural changes that are currently taking place in the country.

As you may well know, the Nigerian Government has recently been focusing/advocating a lot on agriculture as part of its efforts to diversify the economic following incessant oil price crashes. Julius Berger has, therefore, taken note of this and is positioning itself towards becoming a major player in the agro-processing space.

Prior to this time, the company had on different occasions hinted that it was considering diversification opportunities in view of latest developments in the economy.

Although no further details were given concerning this new business venture (particularly when it is expected to commence), the company stressed that it is committed to constantly deliver on its strategy of ensuring competitive advantage.

Do note that Julius Berger Nigeria Plc reported a loss after tax of N1.9 billion in half-year 2020, mainly due to the Coronavirus pandemic which shut down the Nigerian construction sector for many months.

“Due to Governmental regulation on COVID-19, the shutdown of business activities and the still persisting pandemic, the Group’s business activities have been affected in Q2 2020,” the company explained in its H1 earnings report.

Julius Berger Nigeria Plc ended today’s trading session on the Nigerian bourse with a share price of N15. Year to date, the stock has increased by 4.65%, according to data obtained from Bloomberg.