AKINWALE ABOLUWADE
Investors with the University Press Plc have expressed confidence in the ability of the publishing company to remain resilient and create new opportunities despite the difficult global and Nigerian economic environment.
They gave their perception at the company’s 48th Annual General Meeting held on Thursday, September 24, 2026, at Kakanfo Inn and Conference Centre in Ibadan, Oyo State.
On the occasion, the Chairman of the Board of UPPlc, Obafunso Ogunkeye, disclosed that the company recorded N213.7 million profit after tax for the financial year ended March 31, 2026.
According to him, the company’s revenue increased by about 14 per cent, from N3.402 billion in the previous year to N3.895 billion.
He attributed the growth largely to strong demand for primary education titles, adding that the Northern Zone also performed creditably despite security challenges in parts of the region.
This came as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of UPPlc, Samuel Kolawole, disclosed that the company’s balance sheet remained resilient.
The chairman, however, said the company operated under significant economic pressure, including high energy and transportation costs, elevated interest rates and security concerns.
He said these factors increased operating expenses and reduced consumers’ purchasing power. Marketing and distribution expenses consequently rose from N694.7 million to N775.7 million, while administrative expenses remained largely unchanged at about N1.134 billion, following efforts to control overheads.
Ogunkeye explained that profit from operations declined from N541.3 million to N338.2 million, while profit before tax fell from N619.7 million to N389.5 million.
Profit after tax also declined from N450.6 million to N213.7 million, while earnings per share dropped from 104.45 kobo to 49.53 kobo.
He attributed part of the decline to the unusually high other income recorded in the previous year, which stood at N404.9 million, mainly from the disposal of assets.
In the year under review, other income fell to N56.9 million, although the company recorded a fair-value gain of N58.7 million on investment property and finance income of N51.4 million.
The chairman said management would continue to improve production efficiency, strengthen inventory control, review its product mix and adopt commercially appropriate pricing strategies to manage rising costs.
Addressing the forum, the Managing Director of the publishing firm said the company’s balance sheet remained resilient, with total equity rising from N3.41 billion to approximately N3.54 billion.
He added that University Press remained largely debt-free and ended the financial year with about N950 million in cash and cash equivalents.
Kolawole said the results showed that the company was growing its revenue and retaining strong market acceptance, despite operating in an exceptionally difficult cost environment.
He stressed that the company would continue to strengthen the trust it has built among learners, teachers, schools, booksellers and parents through quality, relevant and readily available publications.
He also assured shareholders and other stakeholders that management would pursue new revenue opportunities and strengthen the business so that authors, investors and other stakeholders could receive fair value from the content created and published by the company.
During the meeting, questions were also raised about how University Press Plc intends to leverage artificial intelligence in its operations and protect itself against possible cyber attacks.
The issues formed part of the broader discussion on the company’s preparedness for emerging technological and business risks.
The meeting also witnessed the re-election of some members of the board, including Mr Yomi Adewusi, Architect Ayodeji Olorunda, HRM Josephine Diete-Spiff and Maj. Gen. Daniel Kitchener (retd.).
At the sidelines of the AGM, the Executive Director (Publishing) of the company, Mrs Folakemi Bademosi, expressed joy over the success of programme.
