GLAND ENERGY TO MERGE WITH UNION VENTURE

By NBF News

Plans are afoot by Gland Energy Services Limited to merge with Union Ventures and Petroleum.

At the Union Venture's Annual General Meeting (AGM) held recently, the Chairman, Sir Fidelis Okeke, told shareholders that if the on- going merger talk with Glands Energy comes to fruition, their company would heave a sigh of relief and experience great transformation and unprecedented growth because Gland Energy has made promising offer that will definitely help the company to revive.

Meanwhile, Union Ventures & Petroleum Plc is working out strategies to raise its revenue just as its audited result for the year ended December 31, 2009, turnover dropped by 183 per cent. The audited result for the year shows a turnover of N33.514 million as against the N94.901 million recorded in comparable period in 2008.

Okeke said that the drop in the turnover was as a result of the stiff competition in the sector and unfavourable operating environment, which the company could not cope with. 'The drop in the turnover is as a result of some factors. Firstly, we lost the founding father that had hitherto piloted the affairs of the company. Secondly, big market players came into the playing field, NNPC depots collapsed and the importation of petroleum product became a norm.

Corroborating, the company's Managing Director, Mr. Franklin Anapusim, said that strategies have been mapped out to ensure improvement in the company's revenue. Some of the strategies, he stated, include plans to develop market for enhanced depot trading and tarmac activities, focus on retail network development, consolidating the existing peddling activities and development of bulk trading activities and massive bridging of products for tarmac sales to Suleja, Kano, Jos, Yola and Enugu amongst others.