Onome Amuge

Honeywell Flour Mills Plc has reported a profit after tax of N2.6 billion for the second quarter of 2025, a notable increase from the N1.3 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2024. This improvement in profitability comes despite a decline in group revenue, underscoring the company’s focus on cost optimisation and operational efficiency.

For the group, revenue dipped by 16.2 per cent to N67.49 billion, down from N80.51 billion in Q2 2024. However, the company managed to expand its gross profit, which rose to N7.20 billion from N6.58 billion in the prior year.

Despite the healthy gross profit, operating profit faced pressure, declining to N2.69 billion from N4.48 billion in Q2 2024. This was primarily driven by a near doubling of selling and administrative expenses, which rose to N4.67 billion from N2.35 billion.

A key factor supporting the bottom line was a foreign exchange gain of N1.01 billion, a significant reversal from the N1.14 billion loss incurred in the prior-year quarter. This indicates more favourable currency movements or better hedging strategies.In addition, finance income of N729 million provided a further boost to earnings, even as the company faced higher financing costs.

On a company-only basis, Honeywell Flour Mills reported revenue matching the group’s N67.49 billion, also down from N80.51 billion in Q2 2024. Operating profit for the company came in at N2.71 billion, compared with N4.48 billion a year earlier, mirroring the group’s trend of squeezed operating margins.

However, the company’s profit before tax reached N3.38 billion, with profit after tax closing at N2.62 billion, up from N1.32 billion in Q2 2024. This contributed to a higher basic earnings per share (EPS), which stood at 32.82 kobo for the group and 33.06 kobo for the company, both significantly up from the 16.67 kobo declared in the corresponding quarter of 2024.