Presco Plc, a palm-oil processing and agro-industrial firm, has said the its revenue for 2019 Half-Year dipped by 9.5%, moving from N11.6 billion in 2018 to N10.5 billion at the end of June this year.
The Company’s Board of Directors announced this in its interim financial statements for the period under review, posted on the website of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday.
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Presco’s Profit After Tax (PAT) took a similar turn, shedding 32.3% or N973.1 million within the two periods. In specific terms, it nosedived from the 2018 figure of N3.9 billion to N3 billion in 2019.
Beyond the conspicuous drop in Presco’s turnover, an upsurge in the firm’s Selling, General and Administrative Expenses by as much as N431.2 million contributed to the fall in its bottom-line. It leapt from N3 billion in 2018 to N3.5 billion in 2019, a 14% rise as a matter of fact. In essence, Presco’s operational efficiency worsened during the period, causing its spending on the day-to-day running of business to increase significantly.
Also responsible for Presco’s slump in profit was considerable growth in the firm’s Financial Expenses. From N603 million in 2018, it hit N997.810 million in 2019, signalling a 65.5% jump.
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The drop in the company’s PAT had negative implications on its Earnings Per Share (EPS), which tumbled from N3.99 to N3.02, representing a 24.3% decrease.
What you need to know: Earnings Per Share is the profit that each unit of a company’s ordinary share yields during a particular period. It is simply calculated by dividing the Profit After Tax by the company’s total outstanding shares. Increase in a company’s EPS often reflects an improvement in its bottom-line while a fall, on the other hand, indicates a declining profit.
Presco currently trades on the floor of the Nigeria Stock Exchange at N44.80 per share.
