Presco’s profit jumps 57.4% to N178 billion FY2025 on sales

**HEADLINE:** Nigeria Agribusiness: Presco Profit Surges 57% to N178bn in FY2025

**META_DESCRIPTION:** Presco Plc FY2025 profit jumps 57.4% to N178bn on sales growth. What this means for Nigerian agribusiness investors and palm oil markets.

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## ARTICLE:

Presco Plc, Nigeria's leading integrated palm oil producer, has delivered a landmark financial performance for the full year 2025, reporting a pre-tax profit of N177.98 billion—a stunning 57.4% jump from the prior year's N113.22 billion. This earnings acceleration reflects both operational efficiency gains and favorable commodity pricing in the global palm oil market, signaling renewed investor confidence in Nigeria's agricultural export sector after years of volatility and currency headwinds.

The company's performance comes at a critical juncture for Nigeria's agribusiness industry. For the past 18 months, Nigerian exporters have grappled with naira depreciation, input cost inflation, and supply chain disruptions. Presco's ability to nearly double year-on-year profit growth suggests that scale, backward integration, and hedging strategies are enabling tier-one operators to not just survive, but thrive in this environment.

### What drove Presco's 57% profit surge?

The primary engine was sales volume expansion combined with improved margins. Palm oil prices on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange (the global benchmark) averaged $650–$750 per tonne in 2025, up 18–22% from 2024's depressed levels. Presco, which produces both crude palm oil (CPO) and refined products, benefited from this price recovery. Simultaneously, the company's backward integration into smallholder farming and processing reduced dependency on volatile spot markets. Cost management across milling, refining, and logistics also tightened margins—a sign of operational discipline in a commodity business notorious for thin profitability.

Currency tailwinds may also have played a role. While the naira weakened further in 2025, Presco's export revenues (priced in dollars) translate into larger naira-denominated profits on consolidation, particularly if hedging strategies locked in favorable rates earlier in the year.

### What does this mean for Nigerian equity investors?

Presco's FY2025 result is a proof-of-concept for the broader thesis that Nigeria's agricultural sector can generate institutional-grade returns. The stock, listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), has underperformed relative to banking and fintech peers over the past five years, but earnings like these challenge that narrative. A 57% pre-tax profit jump, if translated to earnings per share growth, may re-rate Presco's valuation multiple and attract fresh portfolio inflows from both local pension funds and diaspora investors seeking exposure to Nigeria's non-oil economy.

For institutional investors, the question becomes sustainability. Can Presco maintain this momentum through 2026? Global palm oil prices are cyclical; a downturn in Southeast Asian production (Indonesia, Malaysia) could inflate CPO prices further, but so too could a normalization if productivity improves. The naira's trajectory also matters—a stabilization could actually compress reported profits in naira terms, even if dollar-denominated EBIT remains strong.

### Why agribusiness matters to your Africa portfolio

Nigeria's agricultural sector accounts for 25% of GDP and employs 35% of the workforce, yet listed agribusiness stocks remain underpenetrated in most investor portfolios. Presco's scale (over 50,000 hectares under management) and export orientation make it a proxy for Nigeria's capacity to compete globally in value-added food production. As African governments prioritize food security and rural employment, companies like Presco that combine production with processing and exports offer both growth and defensive characteristics.

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