BUA Foods Plc has announced its audited financial results for 2025, revealing a significant surge in profitability. The company posted a pre-tax profit of N521.5 billion, an impressive 83.4% increase from the N284.3 billion recorded in the previous year.

This growth was primarily fueled by a robust expansion in revenue, which climbed to N1.7 trillion, marking a 16.15% rise compared to N1.5 trillion in 2024. Bakery flour and fortified sugar were the leading contributors, generating N683.2 billion and N565.8 billion respectively.

Non-fortified sugar added N184.1 billion to the revenue, while rice and bran contributed N96.5 billion and N36.8 billion respectively. The cost of sales saw a corresponding increase to N1.03 trillion, resulting in a gross profit of N737.2 billion, up 36.33% year-on-year.

Operating profit also saw a substantial increase of 39.08%, reaching N656.61 billion. This was supported by other income of N484.8 billion, largely driven by scrap sales. Administrative expenses rose by 32.5% to N37.8 billion, and selling and distribution expenses increased by 9.9% to N44.2 billion.

Finance costs moderated to N146.9 billion from N203.2 billion, primarily due to lower unrealized foreign exchange losses. Consequently, net finance cost narrowed to N135 billion from N187.7 billion, contributing to the strong pre-tax profit growth.

After accounting for a tax expense of N3.1 billion, the profit after tax settled at N518.3 billion, an increase of 94.88% from the prior year. Earnings per share (EPS) rose to N28.80 from N14.78 in the previous year.

On the balance sheet, total assets expanded by 26.68% year-on-year to N1.39 trillion. Amounts due from related parties represented a significant portion of these assets, standing at N753.7 billion.

BUA Foods has rapidly become the largest listed food company on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) by market capitalization, surpassing Nestlé Nigeria. Its total assets have grown from under N600 billion five years ago to N1.38 trillion.

Despite a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.7x and a price-to-book multiple of 19.7x, which might suggest a high valuation, analysts note that the company's dominant insider ownership, with Abdul Samad Rabiu controlling approximately 92% of the company, contributes to elevated pricing due to limited free float.

However, the company's strong fundamentals, including revenue growth of over fourfold in five years and a steep trajectory in earnings per share, support its current market valuation.