LAGOS, NIGERIA — Flour Mills Nigeria Plc reported on Aug. 24 a 42.24% increase in profit after tax in the first quarter due to the performance of the food segment.
The company reported profit after tax of N3.957 billion ($25,004,739), an increase of N1.175 billion from the N2.782 billion recorded during the first quarter of 2012.
“The performance of FMN’s food segment in Q1 was quite impressive and indicates that FMN is faring better than we had expected, given some of the challenges that the Nigerian consumer is facing,” Bloomberg said. “FMN is diversifying beyond the core food segment but we expect this segment to remain the key driver of earnings for some time. The immediate risk to FMN’s earnings are wheat prices which increased 25% in July due to the drought in the U.S. We expect FMN to continue to pass on this increase in cost to consumers but there is growing risk that volume growth will slow. Our new price target implies upside potential of 37.1% from current levels.”