Presco 2021 Net Profit Up 277%, Hits N19.319bn, Offers N6.60 Dividend

Directors of Presco Plc, on Thursday, gave investors reasons to celebrate, following the release of its delayed financials for the full-year ended December 31, 2021, highlights of which included the 97% growth in revenue; and 277% improvement in net profit. The icing on the cake was however the offer of N6.60 dividend per 50 kobo share for approval at the next annual general meeting.

The growth may not be unconnected with the recent merger of the SIAT Nigeria operations based in Port Harcourt.

According to the result of the company whose principal activities include the development of palm plantations, palm oil milling, palm kernel processing and vegetable oil refining, reported a revenue of N47.426bn almost entirely from local sales of crude and refined products, which was almost double the N23.891bn recorded in the previous full-year. Cost of sales doubled from N7.803bn to N15.67bn, with Mill processing, refinery and packaging costs amounting to N5.515bn, from N3.997bn; followed by the N4.687bn incurred from upkeep of mature plantings, harvesting and laboratory expenses, compared to N1.726bn; while raw materials consumed increased significantly from N322.172m to N2.739bn; while depreciation of property, plant and equipment rose from N1.455bn to N2.047bn. This resulted in gross profit of N31.752bn, compared to N16.088bn in the corresponding period of 2020.

Administrative expenses increased to N9.466bn from N6.815bn; selling and distribution expenses rose to N747.725m from N318.364m, with road transport of finished products accounting for N612.291m from N299.239m; while other gains amounted to N312.566m from N158.319m. Other operating loss stood at N126.743m, compared to the previous N408.861m income; caused by the N867.078m in other gains, up from N24.006m; while loss on palm seedlings jumped from N611.172m to N742.696m. The group, however, did not record any income from diesel sales in the year under review, compared to N88.214m in 2020; as well as use of land and service income of N56.399m and N8.86m respectively. Also, gains on biological asset revaluation soared to N6.962bn from N1.845bn; leaving an operating profit before finance cost and finance income of N28.94bn, compared to the previous N10.549bn.

Finance cost for the period stood at N2.579bn from N1.918bn, driven primarily by the N1.704bn interest on loans, which rose from N551.342m; while interest on overdrafts dropped to N469.339m, from N1.042bn; and finance income dropped from N58.858m to N18.184m; resulting in profit before tax of N28.178bn; against the preceding full-year’s N8.69bn.

A tax expense of N7.058bn, from N3.428bn; resulted in profit for the year of N19.319bn, up from the previous N5.261bn; which translates to earnings per share of N19.32; compared to the N5.26 reported in the corresponding period of 2020.