One of Nigeria’s leading construction companies, Julius Berger plc., recorded a 36 percent rise in its after-tax profit in the nine months of 2024, driven by investment income, analysis by BusinessDay shows.
The company’s after-tax profit grew to N12.3 billion in 9M’24 from N9 billion in the same period of the previous year.
The noteworthy performance by Julius Berger plc. in the period under review was due to an increase in income obtained from the implementation of strategic investments and the company’s revenue from civil works.
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The company’s investment income rose by 273.6 percent to N14.2 billion from N3.8 billion during the period.
Also, Julius Berger plc. grew its revenue by 21 percent to N405.2 billion from N333.4 billion, thanks to civil works which contributed 60 percent of the total revenue.
Other segments that contributed to the revenue include building works and services which contributed N85.9 billion and N76 billion, respectively.
Gross profit fell by 5.4 percent to N57.6 billion from N60.9 billion in the previous year. This is as production cost rose to N347 billion from N272 billion.
The company’s stock started 2024 with a share price of N43.00 and traded at a share price of N172.50 as of November 11, 2024.
Between July and September 2024, Julius Berger appreciated by percent, moving from N98.00 as of July 1 to N140.00 as of September 30. During the same period, there was immense buy pressure on Julius Berger’s shares, which surprised market observers.
However, due to 2024’s surge, the firm has now hit a market capitalisation of N276 billion, making it one of the most capitalised construction/ real estate stocks in the NGX.
Further analysis reveals that the company’s total assets rose to N821 billion from N649 billion during the period.
The shareholders’ equity of Julius Berger increased to N171 billion, up 100 percent from N85.9 billion.
The rise in the company’s equity was driven by foreign currency translation reserves which rose to N113.4 billion from N39 billion, and its retained earnings to N56.1 billion from N44.8 billion.
Despite the growth in the company’s profit and revenue, its core business activities during the period generated less cash for the business.
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The firm’s cash flows (used in)/ from operating activities was a negative of N41.8 billion from a positive of N64 billion while net cash flows (used in)/ from investing activities rose to N23 billion from N5.1 billion.
Net cash flows (used in)/ from financing activities was a negative of N15 billion from a positive of N5.8 billion. The company’s cash and cash equivalents increased marginally to N168.4 billion from N136 billion.
The increase in the construction firm’s cash and cash equivalents reflects positively on its ability to meet its short-term debt obligations.
Earnings per share increased by 8.77 percent to N7.58k in 2024 from N5.61k as of September 2024.
In a recent notice, the company announced the appointment of Mohammed Indimi, OFR, as a Non-Executive Director with effect from November 7, 2024.
It said, “Mohammed Indimi, OFR, will bring his wealth of experience to his function as Director as well as the future directions of the Group.”
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