UPDC Plc, a property investment company in Nigeria, posted profit for the first time in eight years, data compiled by BusinessDay shows.
According to the firm’s latest financial statement, it reported a profit of N10.9 million in the first six months of 2024 compared to a loss of N231.2 million in the same period of last year.
Further analysis shows that the company’s operating profit stood at N70.7 million from a loss of N1.58 million while its tax declined to N60.7 million from N89.4 million.
Its profit before tax increased to N71.6 million in H1 from a loss of N141.8 million in the first half of 2023.
The firm’s selling and distribution expenses increased to N97.1 million from N37.9 million while administrative expenses grew to N1.1 billion from N810.8 million.
However, the company reported an increase in revenue which grew by 20.5 percent year-on-year to N2.59 billion in the period under review from N2.15 billion.
A breakdown of the revenue by category showed that the company generated N1.4 billion from selling property stock, N597.6 million from UPDC Hotel Limited and N417.1 million from the UPDC Facility Management Limited surcharge income.
Cost of sales, however, claimed 79.9 percent of the total revenue during the period, thereby pressuring the profitability of the real estate firm.
UPDC’s cost of sales increased by 5.9 percent to N1.44 billion from N1.37 billion. The real estate company also recorded a gain in net finance cost of N865 million in the period under review from a loss of N140.3 million recorded in the same period of 2023.
Its cash and cash equivalent during the period under review amounted to N4.5 billion, a 36.4 percent decline from N3.3 billion.
Cash from operating activities decreased to N533.3 million from N541.2 million.
The real estate company reported a negative net cash from financing activities which amounted to N1.18 billion from N209.9 million.
Net cash used in investing activities recorded a positive N232.8 million from a negative N52.6 million.
The property investment company with a market capitalisation of N25.8 billion. They are into the acquisition, development, sales, and management of high-quality, serviced, commercial, and residential properties in the luxury, premium, and classic segments of the real estate market.
