Agra declares dividends – appoints two women to board
Agricultural retail giant, Agra for the first time elected two women to serve on the board of directors and declared dividends as a public company for the first time.
The company made cemented this during the the 7th Annual General Meeting. The two women who were elected to serve on the board are Advocate Charmaine van der Westhuizen and Anette Steyn.
Van der Westhuizen is a legal practitioner of the High and Supreme Courts of Namibia with more than thirteen years’ experience in all fields of legal practice as well as particular experience in the fields of corporate governance; risk and compliance; strategic intervention and corporate social responsibility.
While Steyn is a local stud farmer, managing four studs on their farm Hoogvertoon, near Koës in the South. She has become well-known in the agriculture industry as area sales manager for Virbac for 12 years until 2014 and for the past two years also as presenter of an agricultural program on Channel 7. Steyn has experience in recruiting, sales coaching, training and artificial insemination, applying her knowledge of animal husbandry, pharmacology, sales and marketing and genetics.
The two will join the current Board of Directors; Ryno van der Merwe (Chairperson), Ben Mouton, Benny Amuenje and Jesko Woermann.
Agra bid farewell to two longstanding directors, Mr Leon van Wyk and Mr Jan Visagie who served on the Agra Board for many years with dedication, making valuable contributions.
However, feeling the impact of the current challenging economic conditions, the Agra Limited showed a decrease of 1.1% in revenue for the group.
The group’s revenue decreased by 1,1%, from N$1 577 million in 2015/16 to N$1 560 million for the 2016/2017 financial year whereas the turnover of Agra Limited increased by N$9 million from N$1,476 million in the 2015/16 financial year to N$1 485 million for the 2016/2017 financial year. Agra’s growth in sales is reflected in the increase of the gross profit by 6%, from N$307 million in 2015/16 to N$324 million for the company, and from N$330 million to N$342 million for the group.
During the meeting, the company also announced the payment of dividends for the first time as a public company. A total of N$6,1 million will be paid to shareholders. This is in line with Agra’s objective to reach a point where its value and achievements are reflected in their share price.
“I want the current shareholders of Agra, who are mainly the agricultural producers of Namibia, to enjoy the benefits of a growing share price,” Agra’s CEO, Arnold Klein, said.
