Academy Press Plc has released its audited full-year 2026 results ended March 2026, reporting a pre-tax profit of N253.45 million, representing a 78.38% decline from N1.17 billion recorded in the prior year.

Profit after tax equally declined by 65% YoY to N253 million, while earnings per share also declined by 60.18% to N0.317.

However, the board recommended a dividend payment of 10k per share for the year, subject to approval by the shareholders at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

This represents a 33.33% decline compared to the 15 kobo paid for 2025 financial year.

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Key Highlights (2026 vs 2025)

  • Revenue: N4,414.04 million (Down 3.75% YoY from N4,586.08 million)
  • Gross profit: N1,258.26 million (Down 8.74% YoY from N1,378.77 million)
  • Operating profit: N347.43 million (Down 73.72% YoY from N1,321.77 million)
  • Total assets: N3,311.95 million (Down 12.71% YoY from N3,794.07 million)
  • Cash and short-term deposits: N612.39 million (Down 34.86% YoY from N940.10 million)

Driving the numbers

Academy Press recorded a mild contraction in revenue, with topline falling by 3.75% year-on-year to N4.41 billion from N4.59 billion.

  • Academy Press’ revenue profile remains highly concentrated in Notebooks, which accounted for 88.43% of segment revenue.
  • Cost of sales also eased to N3.16 billion from N3.21 billion. However, the reduction in cost of sales was not enough to protect margins, as gross profit fell by 8.74% to N1.26 billion.
  • Gross margin also weakened to 28.51% from 30.06%, showing that the company retained less profit from each naira of sales than it did in the previous year.

The sharper pressure came from operating expenses and weaker other income. Selling and distribution expenses rose to N356.88 million from N268.65 million, while administrative expenses increased to N882.73 million from N810.18 million.

In addition, the company recorded an impairment loss of N23.21 million on financial assets, compared with an impairment reversal of N24.85 million in the prior year.

Other operating income was a major swing factor. It fell to N351.99 million from N996.98 million, a decline that materially affected profitability.

  • Finance costs declined to N93.98 million from N149.30 million, reflecting some relief below operating profit.

However, the reduction in finance costs was not enough to offset the combined impact of lower revenue, weaker gross margin, higher operating expenses, and the steep drop in other operating income.

As a result, pre-tax profit fell by 78.38%, while profit after tax declined by 64.65%.

The balance sheet

On the balance sheet, total assets declined to N3.31 billion from N3.79 billion.

  • Inventories fell sharply to N473.77 million from N1.20 billion, while trade and other receivables reduced to N634.52 million from N679.26 million.

Cash and short-term deposits also declined to N612.39 million from N940.10 million.

Cash flow

Cash generation improved materially at the operating level, with net cash flows from operating activities rising to N757.74 million from N121.97 million.

This was supported by a significant inventory reduction and lower receivables, although trade and other payables also declined.

However, investing activities consumed N793.40 million, largely due to N794.25 million spent on property, plant and equipment.

Financing activities also recorded a net outflow of N225.09 million, driven by loan repayments, dividend payments, transaction costs related to the bonus share issue, and interest paid.

Market reaction

Academy Press began the year with a share price of N7.30 but has since lost 12.3% of that valuation. In June, the stock lost 27% to close at N6.70 per share.