Shares of UAC of Nigeria Plc (UACN) skyrocketed last week, hitting an unprecedented high of ₦88.30 following strong investor interest in its earnings outlook and a recently announced acquisition. Trading data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) showed that 3.527 million units of UACN stock exchanged hands, valued at ₦307.83 million.
The company’s market momentum was driven by optimism around its second-quarter 2025 earnings performance and news of its acquisition plans. UACN’s share price had previously stood at ₦54.95 before climbing significantly amid heightened investor enthusiasm.
UACN reported that its Q2 2025 revenue surged by 27% to ₦54.4 billion, primarily due to volume growth in its paints business and strategic pricing adjustments across its subsidiaries. Gross profit rose by 46% to ₦14 billion, with the margin expanding by 321 basis points to 26%.
The company attributed the improvement to efficient pricing strategies and enhanced production processes. It also credited the slower pace of input cost inflation to the implementation of cost optimization strategies introduced in 2024 and a relatively stable Naira.
Operating profit jumped to ₦5.8 billion in Q2 2025 from ₦3.3 billion in Q2 2024. Despite a 30% increase in operating expenses—mainly driven by rising costs in staffing, electricity, transportation, and marketing—UACN maintained a robust profitability profile. Its OPEX-to-sales ratio increased modestly from 16.0% to 16.4%.
However, net finance costs rose to ₦1.5 billion in Q2 2025, reversing the ₦2.7 billion net finance income posted in Q2 2024. This was largely due to higher interest expenses on short-term loans used to support working capital, especially in the Edibles and Feed segment.
A year-on-year comparison was impacted by the absence of a ₦3.5 billion foreign exchange revaluation gain recorded in Q2 2024. However, a profit contribution of ₦1.8 billion from associates like UPDC PLC and gains from property disposals by MDS Logistics helped to bolster overall performance.
Pretax profit for Q2 2025 came in at ₦6.1 billion, up from ₦5.9 billion in the same quarter last year. Adjusting for the exceptional treasury gains of 2024, this represents a 146% year-on-year increase. Net profit rose to ₦4.0 billion with earnings per share at 132 Kobo, compared to 119 Kobo in Q2 2024.
In a strategic move, UACN announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Chivita|Hollandia, a prominent food and beverage conglomerate in Nigeria. The deal—which remains subject to regulatory clearance—positions UACN to further penetrate the fast-moving consumer goods market. Hollandia leads in evaporated milk and drinking yoghurt, while Chivita dominates the fruit juice space.
Despite a dip in its half-year performance compared to 2024—where pretax profit dropped 25.8% to ₦11.1 billion and net profit fell 23% to ₦7.359 billion—analysts suggest that synergies from the Chivita|Hollandia acquisition could revitalize the company’s profit trajectory in the coming quarters.
 skyrocketed last week, hitting an unprecedented high of ₦88.30 following strong investor interest...){kind=link}