Japaul Gold pre-tax profit drops 13% in 2025 despite 28% revenue jump
By Aboki Forex —
Japaul Gold & Ventures Plc posted a group pre-tax profit of N1.30 billion for the year ended 31 December 2025, down 13.19% from N1.50 billion in 2024. The decline came despite a 28% rise in revenue to N5.25 billion, as higher administrative expenses, lower other income, and finance costs ate into earnings.
Revenue and gross profit rise, but costs bite
Revenue grew by N1.15 billion year-on-year to N5.25 billion, compared with N4.10 billion in 2024. Direct costs rose at a slower pace of 15.80% to N2.27 billion, helping the group widen its gross margin to 56.78% from 52.20% in the previous year. Gross profit jumped 39.30% to N2.98 billion from N2.14 billion.
Equipment rental drove the revenue growth. Income from that segment increased by 30.52% to N5.17 billion, accounting for 98.30% of total group revenue. Chippings and crushing revenue fell 38.55% to N89.57 million, contributing only 1.70%. No dredging revenue was recorded in either 2025 or 2024.
Despite the gross profit improvement, operating profit dropped 5.16% to N1.42 billion from N1.50 billion. Administrative expenses surged 87.68% to N1.66 billion from N885.31 million, while other income slumped 58.81% to N100.05 million. Operating margin narrowed to 27.06% from 36.54%.
Net finance costs of N120.33 million were booked, compared with none in 2024. Pre-tax profit margin fell to 24.77% from 36.54%. Profit after tax declined 11.09% to N1.22 billion from N1.38 billion, helped by a lower income-tax charge of N78.59 million versus N123.78 million. Earnings per share dropped 30.77% to 9 kobo from 13 kobo.
Balance sheet expands sharply
Total assets rose 66.08% to N38.05 billion from N22.91 billion, with non-current assets making up 57.30% of the total. Exploration and evaluation assets increased by N3.44 billion to N11.40 billion, representing 29% of total assets. Trade and other receivables grew 19.71% to N7.08 billion. The accounts also showed N8.74 billion in call-in arrears, compared with no such balance in 2024.
Liquidity improved. Current assets of N16.25 billion exceeded current liabilities of N12.87 billion, producing net current assets of N3.38 billion. That reversed the net current-liability position of N4.39 billion reported a year earlier.
Total equity jumped 158.44% to N20.61 billion from N7.98 billion. Share capital rose to N7.13 billion from N5.13 billion, and share premium increased to N31.35 billion from N21.84 billion. The accumulated loss narrowed to N17.87 billion from N19.00 billion. The company said the increase in share capital came from issuing 4 billion ordinary shares under a private placement involving a promissory note and debt-swap transaction. Total borrowings edged down 2.55% to N2.23 billion. Cash balance soared to N427.44 million from N21.62 million.
Market reaction
Japaul Gold shares closed at N3.24 on 10 July 2026, up 2.21% from the previous close of N3.17. The stock has gained 40.26% year-to-date from its opening price of N2.31. Market capitalisation stood at approximately N46.21 billion.
For investors, the results show that Japaul Gold is growing revenue and expanding its asset base, but cost pressures are squeezing margins. The sharp rise in administrative expenses and the appearance of finance costs are signals to watch in the coming quarters.