5 Major Takeaways from Honeywell’s 2021 Financial Year Results

Honeywell Flour Mills Plc has released its audited financial statements for the financial year ended March 31, 2021. The report shows that the company broke its previous revenue record with an all-time high revenue of N109.5 billion.

This new record is a 36% increase from ₦80.4 billion recorded in 2020. This remarkable feat is more impressive because it was achieved during the COVID-19 pandemic, which wrecked many businesses across the globe.

A deep dive into the audited results yielded a handful of key takeaways that any entrepreneur, food manufacturer or business can apply to achieve similar record-breaking financial results.

Here are five key takeaways from Honeywell Flour Mills’ FY 2021 results:

Managing Director, Honeywell Flour Mills Plc., Lanre Jaiyeola

1. Tenacity and ambition will take you far

2020 was rough for businesses, but not even a pandemic could deter the team at Honeywell. A few months into the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, Managing Director Lanre Jaiyeola, shared his ambitions for the company.

Speaking with Business Focus in June 2020, he said, “Today, the business turnover is below ₦100 billion. So, the ambition of the business is to cross the ₦100 billion turnover mark.”

This ambition paid off with the company surpassing the ₦100 billion mark while operating profit grew by 39%.

2. It is essential to have a growth strategy

‘‘In the future, the board and management have many strategic initiatives around the company’s growth,’’ Jaiyeola said back in 2020.

The FY 2021 results show the effectiveness of these strategic initiatives; distribution channels expansion, increasing production capacity and increasing operational efficiency.

3. Focus on driving customer loyalty

The pandemic presented several issues, including food shortage. Honeywell rose to the challenge by offering COVID-19 relief packages thanks to partnerships with government and private organisations, including the CaCOVID initiative.

By showing care and commitment to serving their customers even during a global pandemic, companies like Honeywell Flour Mills show that they care, making it easy for people to continuously patronise them, which customers did, as seen in the financial year results.

Honeywell Spaghetti being served at a cooking competition in Lagos

4. Product accessibility is key

Last year, Honeywell prioritised retail distribution and product penetration which made it easy for consumers to access their products all over Nigeria and this had a positive impact on product availability.

Improving product availability to consumers, which is a key success factor for the business-to-consumer trade, helped the company hit its ₦100 billion revenue mark, the highest ever in its 23-year history.

5. Prioritise operational efficiency

Honeywell’s decision to address specific logistics issues positively affected the FY 2021 results. By expanding its transport fleet, increasing its third-party logistics service providers and commencing barge operations to move transport into the Apapa factory in order to avoid the perennial Apapa traffic, the company effectively reduced the amount of time that raw materials and finished goods spend in transit.

Making these changes helped the company successfully reduce its selling and distribution expenses by 8% to ₦5.5 billion.

Honeywell’s latest financial results prove that any business, large or small, can withstand a severe economic crisis like the one induced by the pandemic by introducing proper efficiency measures and cost optimisation strategies.