Textbook printing and sales giant- University Press Plc, on Friday kept faith with the post-listing rule of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) with the submission of its audited result for the year ended March 31, 2017 within the regulatory timeframe. A major highlight of the result was the slight drop in the cost of sales, as well as a three-digit growth in operating profit, which added to finance income, left the company’s net profit 61.6% better than last year’s.
The directors have therefore recommended a final dividend of 10 kobo from the earnings per share of 27.45 kobo; double previous year’s 5 kobo from the 16.99 kobo EPS approved for payment by shareholders at the annual general meeting on September 29, 2016.
Specifically, turnover for the period limped by N136.432m or 9.26% from N1.471bn in 2016 to N1.608bn from the printing and sale of books within Nigeria, with the Western zone contributing N676.778m, as against previous year’s N644.706m; followed by the northern zone’s N542.491m from N471.269m in 2016, while the eastern zone yielded N388.101m, up from N355.963m.
A further breakdown of the turnover showed that printing and sale of primary school books fetched the company all of N1.003bn,up from prior year’s N857.728m; followed by N547.024m from secondary school books, up from the previous N585.385m; while tertiary and general books yielded a paltry N57.821m, compared to N28.825m in 2016. The primary school segment also contributed N410.954m and N592.571m to cost of sales and operating profit, as against previous year’s N395.792m and N461.936m respectively. The segment also, understandably, contributed the biggest segment profit of N364.548m, more than double the N179.175m from secondary school.
Cost of sales stood at N667.793m as against the previous N680.24m, representing a N148.879m or 18.8% growth, the lion’s share of which came from the N479.792m “cost of books sold,” down from prior year’s N535.989m. Operating profit therefore stood at N940.577m, better than the prior year’s N791.698m.
Marketing and distribution expenses stood at N385.945m, slightly higher than the N371.861m in the 2016 financial year; following which gross profit stood at N554.632m. This was however enhanced by N32.725m “other operating income,” compared to N19.994m in prior year. The bulk of the other operating income was the profit on disposal of property, plant and equipment at N11.529m, more than double previous year’s N3.441m; followed by an N11.174m of unrealized foreign exchange gain, up from N8.854m. There was also another N2.32m provision no longer required, which did not exist in 2016.
Marketing and distribution expenses stood at N385.945m, as against the previous N371.862m, swelled by the N195.86m staff emoluments, down N203.448m; administrative expenses rose to N428.124m, up from previous year’s N405.493m
Finance income for the period stood at N63.952m, better than previous year’s N38.51m by N26.442m or 68.66%, with nil finance expense. This left profit before tax for the period at N164.941m, growing from N70.207m. The year’s N46.523m tax, up from N3.069m, left profit for the year rising by N45.142m or 61.6% from N73.276m in the 2016 financial year to N118.418m this year.