NASCON Allied Industries has recorded a surge in borrowings to N4.83 billion in 2022 from N38.5 million in 2021, bringing net debt to a total of N16 billion during the period.
According to findings BusinessDay, the firm’s net debt increased by 49.24 percent year on year in 2022 from N10.72 billion in 2021.
The consumer goods firm cash and cash equivalent grew 84.7 percent to N13 billion in 2022 from N7.04 billion in 2021, driven mainly by the net cash generated from financing activities during the period.
Movement of the firms’ cash and cash equivalents shows that net cash from financing activities for the period was positive amounting to which N3.36 billion from a negative of N1.68 billion in the comparable period of 2021.
This is due to the proceeds from borrowings which amounted to N4.79 billion in 2022.
The firm’s net cash from investing activities stood at a negative of N895.97 million from N1.10 billion positive in 2022, which was largely due to the purchase of property, plant, and equipment.
Net cash from operating activities dipped to N3.50 billion in 2022, a 30 percent decrease from N5 billion in 2021. This indicates that NASCON’s ability to increase cash generated from core business activities reduced during the period.
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Furthermore, NASCON reported an 84 percent increase in profit for the year amounting to N5.47 billion in 2022, from N2.97 billion in 2021.
The firm’s revenue from the sale of goods also grew 76.7 percent to N58.79 billion in 2022 from N33.28 billion in 2021 which amounted to N53.50 billion in 2022.
A breakdown of the firm’s total revenue shows that the sale of salt accounted for 91 percent and grew by 79.8 percent to N53.50 billion in 2022.
NASCON’s cost of sales grew to N34.24 billion in 2022, a 60.6 percent increase from N21.32 billion in 2021 largely due to raw materials consumed and manufacturing expenses which amounted to N30.45 billion, and N2 billion respectively during the period.
Furthermore, on the back of a 126 percent year-on-year increase in the firm’s delivery expenses, distribution cost jumped to N12.04 billion, up 79.7 percent from N6.7 billion. The consumer goods firm also reported a 12 percent rise in administrative expenses totaling N3.14 billion in 2022.
With the Central Bank raising interest rates by a total of 600 basis points in 2022, the firm’s investment income grew to N394.54 million in 2022, up 663 percent from N51.7 million in 2021 while finance costs rose by 434 percent year on year to N694.83 million from N130.16 million.
Consequently, the profit margin for the period totaled 9.3 percent, 40 basis points up from 8.9 percent in 2021.
Total assets rose to N55.53 billion, a 37 percent increase from N40.52 billion in 2022, while shareholders’ funds increased to N19.04 billion in December 2022, up 30 percent from N14.63 billion in December 2021 with a dividend of N100 in 2022 and N40 in 2021.
NASCON declared earnings per share of N206 per share in 2022 from N112 per share in 2021 and proposed a dividend of N100 per ordinary share in 2022.
