University Press pre-tax profit slides despite revenue growth in Q3 2025 

University Press Plc’s pre-tax profit declined in the third quarter of its 2025 financial year despite recording strong revenue growth, underscoring the impact of rising operating costs on earnings.

The performance was contained in the company’s unaudited financial results filed with the Nigerian Exchange on Thursday, January 29, 2026.

The results cover the nine-month period ended December 31, 2025, and show that while book sales improved across key regions, higher expenses and weaker ancillary income weighed on overall profitability.

What the data is saying

University Press Plc posted a profit before tax of N509.23 million for the nine months ended December 2025, representing a 36.2% decline from the N797.57 million recorded in the corresponding period of 2024.

The weaker pre-tax performance came despite notable revenue growth, reflecting how rising costs offset gains from improved sales volumes.

• Revenue rose to N3.54 billion in the April–December 2025 period, up 17.2% from N3.02 billion recorded a year earlier.
• Cost of sales increased sharply to N1.63 billion, compared with N1.23 billion in the prior year, reflecting higher production and input costs.
• Gross profit improved to N1.91 billion from N1.79 billion, indicating resilience in core publishing operations.
• Profit after tax from continuing operations declined to N339.41 million from N510.71 million, while earnings per share settled at 79 kobo.

Overall, the numbers show that although demand for printed educational books remains steady, margin pressures are intensifying.

More Insights 

A closer look at the income statement shows that non-core income and rising operating expenses were the major drags on profitability during the period.

These cost pressures reflect the broader inflationary environment affecting Nigeria’s publishing and educational materials market.

• Other operating income dropped sharply to N6.12 million, from N314.58 million a year earlier, due largely to the absence of significant one-off income recorded in 2024.
• Marketing and distribution expenses rose to N596.86 million, while administrative expenses increased to N842.72 million.
• Finance income declined to N32.05 million from N46.04 million, further constraining earnings growth.

Despite these challenges, profit from continuing operations stood at N477.19 million, suggesting that the company’s core publishing business remains fundamentally profitable.

What you should know 

University Press Plc’s latest performance fits into the company’s persisting trend of volatility followed by gradual recovery in recent years. The company’s earnings have been influenced by fluctuations in production costs, foreign exchange pressures, and shifts in operating efficiency.

• In FY 2023, the company recorded a pre-tax profit jump of N619.7 million, supported by stable demand and improving margins.
• FY 2024 marked a downturn, as rising production costs and foreign exchange pressures pushed the company into a pre-tax loss of about N222 million despite higher revenue.
• By 2025, revenue momentum improved, even though pre-tax profit remained under pressure due to elevated costs.

The Q3 2025 results suggest that University Press Plc’s recovery in revenue is holding, but sustaining earnings growth will depend largely on effective cost management alongside continued demand for its educational publishing products.