John Holt Plc, on December 31, 2025, released its consolidated and separate financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2025.
The headline numbers told a clear story: revenue fell sharply, operating profit weakened, profit before and after tax declined steeply, and earnings per share collapsed.
But beyond the surface-level decline lies a more revealing explanation. 2025 did not merely mark a bad year; it exposed how much of 2024’s profitability was built on one-off support rather than sustainable operating strength.
When the one-offs disappeared
In 2024, the company’s earnings profile was materially distorted by non-recurring income items that did not reflect underlying operating performance.
- The most significant of these was N3.45 billion in parent company support, which provided an extraordinary boost to earnings but disappeared entirely in FY 2025.
- In addition, fair-value gains on investment properties, which amounted to N1.03 billion in FY 2024, declined to N522 million in FY 2025 as property revaluation gains moderated.
Together, these items lifted other operating income to N4.76 billion in 2024, masking early signs of weakness in core trading performance.
Their absence in 2025 saw other operating income collapse to N820 million, significantly amplifying the decline in operating profit and exposing a much weaker earnings base once the one-offs fell away.
Beyond the disappearance of one-off income, the underlying business also weakened materially in 2025, compounding the earnings decline.
- Revenue fell to N1.45 billion from N3.15 billion, driven largely by a sharp contraction in the sale of finished goods.
- Sales of finished products dropped to N739 million from N2.19 billion, reflecting reduced demand for generator sets and other engineering equipment.
This decline is closely tied to what the company actually does
John Holt operates across engineering, leasing, trade and distribution, with core activities including the assembly and sale of generator sets, the leasing of boats, generators and air conditioners, and the provision of maintenance, logistics and depot services.
Historically, the sale of finished goods, particularly generator sets and engineering equipment, has been the company’s largest and most volatile revenue driver.
Key financial highlights (FY 2025 vs FY 2024)
- Revenue: N1.45 billion; –54.0% YoY
- Cost of sales: N1.13 billion; –55.5% YoY
- Gross profit: N319 million; –48.2% YoY
- Operating profit: N592 million; –78.7% YoY
- Profit after tax: N469 million; –81.0% YoY
- Earnings per share: 120 kobo; –82.2% YoY
- Total assets: N9.74 billion; +9.77% YoY
- Shareholders’ funds: N6.27 billion; +9.78% YoY
The earnings pressure flowed directly into shareholder returns and valuation.
Earnings per share fell to 120 kobo, down 82.2% year on year, reflecting the combined impact of weaker operating earnings and the absence of one-off income.
This collapse in earnings came even as the balance sheet expanded, with total assets rising by 9.77% to N9.74 billion and shareholders’ funds increasing by 9.78% to N6.27 billion.
A growing balance sheet but shrinking returns
The mismatch between balance sheet growth and profitability was reflected in sharply weaker efficiency ratios.
- Return on equity fell to about 7–9% in FY 2025 from above 50% in FY 2024, while return on assets declined to roughly 5% from nearly 28%
In effect, the company generated far less profit from a larger asset and equity base, suggesting that balance-sheet growth was driven more by revaluations than by earnings power.
Valuation reset follows earnings collapse
With the stock closing at N4.90, the sharp drop in EPS pushed valuation higher, lifting the price-to-earnings multiple to about 4.1x.
Investors are now paying more for each naira of earnings, not because the business was re-rated, but because profits shrank faster than the share price adjusted.
Market performance reflected this shift in fundamentals. The share price declined by 37% in 2025, retracing part of the sharp rally recorded a year earlier, when the stock gained 235% in 2024.
Bottom line
The next phase for John Holt is not about balance sheet growth or extraordinary boosts but about proving that its operating businesses can generate sustainable, repeatable earnings.
That is the real test investors will be watching in 2026.
