TDC Ghana Ltd declares GH¢3m dividend to govt

TDC Ghana Ltd has declared a total dividend of GH¢3 million to the government for the 2023 financial year.

The Chairman of the Board of the company, Kofi Brako, announced this at the Fourth Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company

The declaration of the dividend follows an impressive financial perfomance, which saw shareholder's fund grow by 19.9%  from GH¢378.2 million in 2022 to GH¢453.47 million in 2023.

Return on equity for the same period was 12.1%, compared to 9.9% recorded in 2022.

Mr Brako said he was optimistic that the growth would continue to boost shareholder confidence in the company's performance and prospects for the future.

Urban redevelopment

He said the company's in-filling project at Tema Community 1 site Three was progressing, stressing that phase three of the project designed to provide 40 units of two-bedroom apartments was scheduled to commence soon.

Mr Brako commended the management of TDC for its outstanding performance during the year under review and for winning seven prestigious awards, including the most consistent dividend-paying state-owned enterprise for the year 2023 in the public enterprises league table, as well as the best internal Audit Unit state-owned enterprise category for the year 2023.

Strides

The Managing Director of TDC Ghana Ltd, Alice Abena Ofori-Atta, in a report, said the consistent depreciation of the cedi against major foreign currencies throughout the year remained one of the major constraints to real estate development for property developers and prospective homeowners.

That notwithstanding, she said the company persevered and sustained transformation and growth in its business operations.

She said TDC currently had several ongoing projects, adding that the pilot phase of the nationwide mortgage financing programme aimed at reducing the housing deficit and providing affordable housing for low-to-middle –to middle-income earners at Community 22 in collaboration with the National Homeownership Fund had been completed.

Ms Ofori-Atta said 405 of such housing units made up of one, two and three-bedroom apartments and townhouses had been completed with works currently ongoing under phase three of that project to deliver a total of 123 two and three-bedroom apartments and six detached three-bedroom townhouses, expected to be completed by December 2024.

She said in line with TDC’s new mandate of extending to other parts of the country, the company in collaboration with the National Homeownership Fund, has initiated the construction of detached houses, roads and infrastructure at Manya-Jorpanya in the Shai-Osudoku District with the first set of 50 two and four-bedroom houses 
expected to be completed in November this year.

Consistency

The Minister of Public Enterprises, Joseph Cudjoe, said TDC Ghana Ltd has consistently proven to be profitable and had thus laid a foundation for a kickoff in the housing sector.

He urged the management of the company to explore opportunities that exist in the capital market by leveraging their expertise to attract private and corporate partners to create wealth.

He also urged the board and management to explore new business lines such as property management and quantity surveying services with the resources and expertise at their disposal to generate more revenue.

Stock exchange

The Acting Director General of the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), John Boadu, commended the TDC for its outstanding performance during the year under review, adding that based on the solid foundations laid by the company, the government was prepared to reduce its stake (shares) to enable the Ghanaian citizens to be part of the TDC’s transformative and excellent performing state-owned enterprise status via the stock exchange.

The Minister of Works and Housing, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, in a speech read on his behalf by the Chief Director of the ministry, Reverend Stephen Yaw Osei, urged TDC to adopt sustainable building practices by increasing the use of locally sourced materials to help reduce the reliance of imported resources and also open up avenues for accessing green financing, a move that aligns with the national sustainability goals.

Writer’s email: Benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh