Presco Plc concluded another successful trading week with a rise in its share price, extending its three-month positive trend.
The stock experienced a notable 18% increase in August 2024,
closing at N477 per share on August 16, 2024, with a market volume of 187,758
shares. A significant surge in buying interest emerged in May 2024, following a
decline in share price to N209 in April.
Subsequently, May, June, July, and the second week of August
all ended with positive market performance.
Presco has maintained a bullish trajectory since its low of
N36 per share in April 2020, with the exception of a notable sell-off that
caused a drop from N165 to N110 in June 2022.
Notably, the stock has already traded 6.2 million shares
within the first two weeks of August 2024, surpassing the volume recorded in
June by an impressive 22%.
Presco’s pre-tax profit experienced a substantial increase
of 109.5% year-over-year, reaching N45.2 billion in the second quarter of 2024.
This represents a significant rise from the N21.5 billion reported during the
same period in the previous year.
Furthermore, the company’s revenue demonstrated a robust
growth of 78.92% year-over-year, climbing to N69.6 billion in 2024 from N38.9
billion recorded in 2023.
However, it is important to note that the cost of sales
incurred during the second quarter of 2024 witnessed a notable increase of
40.65%, moving from N11 billion in the previous year to N15.5 billion in Q2
2024. Additionally, finance costs experienced a year-over-year increase of
12.69%.
Despite these cost increases, Presco’s earnings per share
from common stocks exhibited an impressive growth of 113.23% year-over-year,
rising from N15.80 in the previous year to N33.69 in 2024.
During the company’s 31st annual general meeting
held in July 2024, shareholders were pleased to announce the approval of a
dividend payment of N24.30 per ordinary share of 50 kobo, amounting to a total
dividend payout of N2.4 billion.
In the 2024 general meeting, the board of directors declared
a final dividend, along with the previously announced interim dividend of N2.00
per 50 kobo share, resulting in a total dividend payout of N26.3 billion to
shareholders.
In a statement, the company’s chairman, Rasheed Sarumi,
reaffirmed the company’s commitment to achieving operational excellence,
maintaining the highest standards of corporate governance, and pursuing
significant growth opportunities.
According to the earnings forecast report published on the
NGX disclosure platform, the company projects a revenue of N134.4 billion and a
pre-tax profit of N61.9 billion for the third quarter of 2024.
These projections represent an estimated increase of 93.10%
in revenue and 36.95% in pre-tax profit compared to the corresponding period in
2023. The company also anticipates a positive impact on its share price as a
result of these improved financial performance indicators.