Graphic, GCB Bank strengthen partnership

The management of the Graphic Communications Group Ltd (GCGL) has paid a courtesy call on the Managing Director (MD) of GCB Bank PLC, Farihan Alhassan, to formally congratulate him and explore ways to strengthen the partnership between the two companies.

Led by the MD of GCGL, Ato Afful, the delegation also introduced the GCGL’s leadership to the GCB Bank MD and discussed strategies that could help maintain their long-standing relationship.

Mr Afful stated that it was important for the bank to familiarise itself with the GCGL leadership, particularly the Editor, Graphic, Theophilus Yartey, to build trust and business relationships.

Also present at the meeting were the Director of Finance and Administration of GCGL, Samuel Essel, and the Director, Marketing at GCGL, Franklin Sowa.

Partnership

During yesterday’s meeting at the GCB Bank head office on the Prof. J. E. A Mills High street in Accra, Mr Afful expressed gratitude for GCB's support while highlighting GCGL's efforts to improve its performance with the bank.

He shared the company's challenges, particularly the high cost of newsprint, an imported input which accounted for 85 per cent of operating costs, and its impact on the company’s operations.

“We are dealing with a fundamental issue where the production inputs are not available locally. Every bit of production input that we run daily is imported and the taxes on them are so high,” he said.

Mr Afful added that the distribution mechanism for the newspapers across the country was also expensive.

In spite of the challenges, he acknowledged the long-term benefits of digital opportunities and said the company was transitioning to a digital model, investing in a digital studio and archiving its historical content.

He emphasised that building a digital presence to complement the traditional media was crucial to sustain the business.

Mr Afful, however, pledged the company’s commitment to strengthening its partnership with GCB and building trust between them.

GCB’s support

For his part, Mr Alhassan, who was flanked by many of his Executive Committee members, expressed the bank’s support for the company during difficult times, stressing the bank's commitment to national institutions.

To that, he stated, among others, a review of the interest rates offered to the GCGL, and that they would further explore ways to provide concessions.

He added that GCB Bank PLC would review the overdraft facilities provided to the company and examine the salary burden of the company to help find ways of providing more time for them to pay back to avoid the situation of the staff becoming unprofitable.

“We’ll need to discuss and get a sense of how these challenges or dynamics affect your ability to continue to foster a good commercial relationship with the bank.

“We will work with you throughout to ensure that your strategies can come to light,” Mr Alhassan added.

He acknowledged the Daily Graphic’s authenticity and wide reach, suggesting the need to commercialise that credibility into something productive  to support the company’s financial intermediation roles.

Mr Alhassan also called for a collective effort to overcome challenges and foster a good commercial relationship with the bank.

The Executive Head of Corporate Banking at GCB, Linus Kumi, and the Executive Head of the Retail Banking Department, Sina Kamagate, also expressed their commitment to discuss strategies to support the GCGL’s social responsibilities as well as cost-cutting measures.

They, however, called for open communication about the company’s financial challenges in order to find the best way forward.