Presco, Nigeria’s second-largest palm oil maker by market capitalisation, has released its financial results for the period ended March 31, 2022, showing impressive growth.
Amidst tight global supply, Presco’s profit appreciated by 270 percent to N5.89 billion from N1.59 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2012, according to findings by BusinessDay.
Data sourced from the Nigeria Exchange Group (NGX) showed profit grew by 53 percent during the first three months of 2022 to N5.89 billion, from N3.84 billion in the first three months of last year.
The oil maker recorded profit growth despite the increase in the cost of sales to N5.76 billion from N1.51 billion, indicating a 281 percent increase year on year.
Analysis by BusinessDay showed Presco’s local sales drove a 147 percent growth in revenue to N19.61 billion in Q1 ‘2022 from N7.93 billion in Q1’2021.
Profit before tax also grew to N8.60 billion from N4.95 billion, showing a 73.7 percent increase in the period under review.
Further analysis by BusinessDay showed the company made a profit margin of 30 percent, showing how efficient the company is at managing its cost relative to its revenue.
Presco’s administrative expenses grew by 152 percent to N3.61 billion as against N1.43 billion recorded in the same period in the previous year.
Similarly, its selling and distribution expenses grew to N195 million in the first three months of 2022, compared to N105 million it reported in the first three months of 2021.
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The agri-business’s total assets amounted to N137.36 billion in the first three months of 2022, an 80 percent increase from N76.22 billion recorded in the same period of the preceding year.
Similarly, its total shareholders’ equity appreciated by 2.21 percent to N35.67 billion from N34.90 billion during the period under review.
Cash and cash equivalents, which represent the value of the company’s assets that can be converted into cash, totalled N13.05 billion during the quarter, representing a 311.7 percent increase from N3.17 billion in the first quarter of 2021.
However, the oil company recorded a 49.6 percent decline in its cash generated from operating expenses to N1.8 billion in Q1 2022, from N3.57 billion in Q1 2021.
Presco plc recorded a 79.8 percent decline in the net cash used in investing activities to N198 million from N982 million during the period under review.
Net cash used in financing activities gained 2.05 percent to N5.83 billion during the quarter from N1.91 billion during the same quarter of 2021.
Earnings per share grew by 53 percent to 589 kobo per share in March 2022 from 384 kobo per share in March 2021.
