Japaul Gold profit falls 13% as admin costs offset 28% revenue growth
Nigerian industrial services group Japaul Gold saw its 2025 pre-tax profit decline 13% despite a 28% surge in revenue, as soaring administrative expenses and new finance costs eroded margins.
Japaul Gold & Ventures reported a 13% drop in 2025 pre-tax profit to N1.30 billion, down from N1.50 billion the previous year. The decline occurred even as top-line revenue expanded 28% to N5.25 billion.
Gross profit actually jumped 39% to N2.98 billion, widening the gross margin to nearly 57% from 52.20%. However, this operational improvement was swallowed by an 88% surge in administrative expenses, which reached N1.66 billion. The company also recorded N120.33 million in net finance costs, a stark contrast to zero finance costs in 2024.
Operating profit fell 5.16% to N1.42 billion, dragging the operating margin down to 27.06% and compressing the pre-tax margin to 24.77%. Profit after tax fell 11.09% to N1.22 billion, resulting in earnings per share dropping 30.77% to 9 kobo. The income-tax charge did decline to N78.59 million from N123.78 million, which helped limit the overall drop in net income.
Equipment rental drove the top-line expansion, climbing 30.5% to N5.17 billion and accounting for 98.3% of total group revenue. Conversely, chippings and crushing revenue slumped 38.5% to N89.57 million, contributing just 1.70% to the total. No dredging revenue was reported in either 2025 or 2024.
The balance sheet tells a different story of aggressive capitalization, with total assets expanding 66% to N38.05 billion and total equity more than doubling to N20.61 billion. This equity surge was fueled by the issuance of 4 billion ordinary shares through a private placement involving a promissory note and debt-swap transaction. Exploration and evaluation assets grew by N3.44 billion to N11.40 billion, while trade receivables rose 19.71% to N7.08 billion alongside N8.74 billion in new call-in arrears.
The capital injection significantly improved liquidity, flipping a net current liability of N4.39 billion into a net current asset position of N3.38 billion, while cash balances surged to N427.44 million. Following the results, Japaul Gold shares closed at N3.24 on July 10, 2026, valuing the company at approximately N46.21 billion. The stock has gained 40.26% year-to-date from its opening 2026 price.
