NIGERIA – Mrs Phoebe Onyinye Obi, a leading finance strategist in Nigeria, has been appointed Chief Finance Officer of Berger Paints by the company’s Board of Directors of Berger Paints Plc.
In a statement, Berger Paints, explained that the decision to appoint Mrs. Phoebe Onyinye Obi as the CFO, was in line with the company’s plan to strategically position its operations for increased efficiency and enhanced value creation.
Mrs. Obi according to the statement, comes with almost fifteen years of extensive local and international experience in leading Strategic Planning, Budgeting, and Corporate Finance for high-growth organizations.
She has previously worked at Management level in organizations like KPMG, Lion Seal Industries Limited, and Nomiworld/Sochitel Telecommunications Limited based in the UK.
At KPMG, Mrs. Obi spearheaded projects in Consumer Markets, adding several companies to the existing client base of the leading audit firm.
After her illustrious career at KPMG she left in 2018, to join Lion Seal Industries Limited as Senior Accountant 2019 till March 2020.
She later left to join United Kingdom (U.K) based firm of Nomiworld/Sochitel Telecommunications Limited as Head – Compliance and Financial Controls in April 2020.
Mrs Obi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the Babcock University Remo, Ogun State and a Master’s Degree in Finance from the University of Lagos.
She is a Member of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA) of the UK, and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).
Ms. Phoebe is coming to Berger paints at a time when the economic challenges triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with foreign exchange illiquidity problems are constraining the operations of big players in the paints and coating industry.
The ripple effects of the corona virus pandemic also disrupted trade segments of paint companies resulting in a fall in demand, consequently supressing revenue and underlying profits.
According to the cumulative half year results of Nigeria’s leading paint industry companies, sales of paint were significantly affected resulting in a 12.8% cumulative decline of revenues.
Despite the dismal sector-wide performance, Berger paints emerged as the only company to have sustained a growth in revenues, clocking a 16.77% growth in revenue during the period under review.
In spite of growth in revenues, the cost of raw materials such as resins, pigments, and adhesives has significantly rose impacting the company revenues.
Berger Paints for instance recorded a 72% reduction in profit after tax due to a 75% increase in costs of operations.
Mrs. Obi will thus be having her work cut out: maintaining the company’s profitability at a time when costs of operation are soaring and demand for products are plummeting.
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