2020 proved fruitful for Vitafoam Nigeria

Lagos – Vitafoam Nigeria, which makes flexible PU foam in west Africa, generated group sales of NGN23.4bn ($5.9m) in 2020. This is up 5.41% on the previous financial year.

Gross profit across the business increased by 25% to NGN 11 bn in 2020. 

The company’s sales are almost exclusively within Nigeria. It has a large number of subsidiaries within the country, as well as one in Sierra Leone. It discontinued operations in Ghana in 2019. 

The company tried to sell the Sierra Leone business in 2019, but decided in September 2020 to keep making foam there. ‘[The plant is making] products of a high-quality standard with good margin,' the company’s annual report said. ‘This subsidiary has commenced export of products to Guinea whilst strengthening collaboration with the government of Sierra Leone and other humanitarian agencies towards mass production and distribution of quality mattresses in Sierra Leone.’

Vitafoam Nigeria splits out the operating profit for its foam products business. In 2020, this increased to NGN6.5m from NGN4.5bn in 2019, a rise of 44%. 

It also disclosed that profit from non-Nigerian operations grew by 9% from NGN563m to NGN615m between 2019 and 2020.

Also during the 2020 financial year, Vitapur, the company's rigid polyurethane subsidiary, set up a systems house in Nigeria, with help from the United Nations Development Programme. The new systems house specialises in formulations based on methyl formate. It also supplies other group companies with non-flammable adhesives and pre-polymers on a just-in-time basis. Vitapur has also developed hand sanitisers and handwash.

The Vitapur business, which has Saip machinery, also purchased a new mobile plant ,and wants to gain market share in a number of other industries.

Separately, Viafoam Nigeria has set up Vitaparts Nigeria to make and sell oil filters. This is likely to begin operation in the second quarter of 2021.