Julius Berger Nigeria Plc’s cost of sales in the twelve-month period of 2022 claimed 84.43 percent of its total revenue, thereby putting pressure on the firm’s profitability.
The firm’s cost of sales grew by 36.55 percent to N371.84 billion in 2022 from N272.32 billion in 2021, on the back of rising inflation which became the order of the day in 2022, while its total revenue increased to N44.043 billion, up 29.99 percent from N338.81 billion in 2021.
The construction company’s profit grew by 13.31 percent to N9.45 billion in 2022 from N8.34 billion in 2021. However, due to rising costs, the profit margin declined by 30 basis points to 2.2 percent in 2022 from 2.5 percent in 2021.
Furthermore, its operating expenses grew 8.46 percent to N43.47 billion in 2022 from N40.07 billion in 2021 on the back of an 8.88 percent growth in administrative costs.
While administrative expenses grew to N43.29 billion in 2022, marketing expenses declined by 43.95 percent to N176 million in 2022 from N314 million in 2021.
The construction company also reported impairment loss on trade and tax receivables amounting to N3.89 billion in 2022, up 4.01 percent from N3.74 billion in 2021.
Riding on a high-interest rate environment, investment income grew by 7.65 percent to N1.07 billion in 2022 from N994 million in 2021, while finance costs grew by 6.15 percent to N4.49 billion in 2022 from N4.23 billion in 2021.
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Due to foreign exchange volatility, Julius Berger reported a foreign exchange acquisition loss of N4.63 billion during the period. However, the loss reported during the period was a slowdown from the N9.08 billion it recorded in 2021.
Total assets increased by 5.78 percent to N504.84 billion in 2022 from N477.24 billion in 2021, while shareholders’ equity rose to N58.69 billion in 2022, indicating a 10.51 percent increase from N53.11 billion in 2021.
Net cash flow from operations after tax deductions was positive, amounting to N45.80 billion in 2022 indicating that the firm generated adequate cash from its core business activities. However, the value declined year on year by 32.46 percent from N67.81 billion in 2021 indicating that its ability to generate cash in 2022 declined.
Furthermore, it purchased property, plant, and equipment during the period amounting to N25.39 billion, received interest amounting to N1.22 billion, and proceeds from the disposal of property, plant, and equipment totaling N1.02 billion, thereby bringing net cash flow from investing activities to N-23.16 billion in 2022.
Net cash flow from financing activities for the 12-month period of 2022 stood at N-11.39 billion primarily due to the large cash outflow it made. The construction company repaid term loans amounting to N2.31 billion, paid lease liabilities of N1.66 billion, paid interests of N3.42 billion, and dividends of N4 billion in 2022.
Consequently, cash and cash equivalents for the 12-month period of 2022 amounted to N53.07 billion, a 26.90 percent rise from N41.82 billion in 2021.
Julius Berger reported earnings per share of N5.47 per share in 2022, up 1.08 percent from N5.53 per share in 2021.
