Ellah Lakes (ELLAHLAKES) financials

Revenue is the top line of the income statement: the value of everything the company sold in the period. It is the starting point for every profit figure below it.

Growing revenue usually means the business is selling more or charging more. But revenue alone says nothing about profit: a company can grow sales and still lose money if costs grow faster. Banks call their top line gross earnings (interest, fees and other income), and insurers report insurance revenue.

Example. A cement maker sells 1 million tonnes at ₦100,000 a tonne. Its revenue is ₦100 billion, before it pays for fuel, staff or anything else.

Gross profit is what is left after taking off the cost of sales: raw materials, factory labour and other costs directly tied to producing the goods. It shows how much the company earns on its products before paying for offices, marketing and interest.

Divide gross profit by revenue to get the gross margin. A falling gross margin often means input costs (like imported materials when the naira weakens) are rising faster than the company can raise its prices.

Example. A drinks company has revenue of ₦200bn and cost of sales of ₦140bn. Gross profit is ₦60bn, a gross margin of 30%.

Operating profit takes gross profit and subtracts the running costs of the business: salaries, rent, marketing, transport and depreciation. It is sometimes called EBIT (earnings before interest and tax).

Because it is measured before interest, it lets you compare how well two companies run their operations even if one has a lot of debt and the other has none. A company with a healthy operating profit but a loss at the bottom line is often being dragged down by interest costs or currency losses.

Example. Gross profit is ₦60bn and running costs are ₦35bn, so operating profit is ₦25bn.

Profit before tax (PBT) is operating profit, plus investment and other income, minus interest and other finance costs. It is the profit the tax authority works from.

PBT is useful for comparing companies whose tax charges differ, for example because one has tax credits or pays a special levy. Headlines about Nigerian bank results often quote PBT, so check whether a figure is before or after tax before comparing.

Example. Operating profit is ₦25bn, finance costs ₦5bn and investment income ₦2bn. Profit before tax is ₦25bn − ₦5bn + ₦2bn = ₦22bn.

Companies in Nigeria pay company income tax on their profits, plus other levies such as the education tax. A loss-making company may still pay minimum tax, and banks paid a windfall tax on foreign exchange gains in 2024 and 2025.

The tax line includes current tax (payable now) and deferred tax (timing differences between accounting and tax rules), so it can be a credit in some years. Divide tax by profit before tax to get the effective tax rate.

Example. Profit before tax is ₦22bn and income tax is (₦6.6bn). The effective tax rate is 30% and profit after tax is ₦15.4bn.

Profit after tax (PAT), or net profit, is the final profit for the period. It is the pool from which dividends can be paid and the rest kept in the business to fund growth.

A single good year can include one-off items, like a gain from selling a building or a large currency gain, so look at the trend over several years and at what drove the result. Losses are shown in brackets.

Example. A company with revenue of ₦100bn and profit after tax of ₦10bn kept ₦10 of every ₦100 of sales, a 10% net profit margin.

When a listed company owns, say, 80% of a subsidiary, its group accounts include all of that subsidiary's profit. The other 20% belongs to the subsidiary's other shareholders, called non-controlling interests (or minority interests).

Profit attributable to owners of the parent is what is left for you as a shareholder of the listed company. Earnings per share is worked out from this figure, not from total profit after tax.

Example. Group profit after tax is ₦50bn, of which ₦5bn belongs to minority shareholders of subsidiaries. Profit for the listed company's shareholders is ₦45bn.

EPS is how much profit the company made for each share that exists. It's the foundation of the P/E ratio and a quick way to see if a business is actually making money for its owners.

Rising EPS over time is a healthy sign; falling EPS can signal trouble.

Example. A company that earns ₦10 billion profit with 5 billion shares has an EPS of ₦2 per share.

Total assets adds up every resource on the balance sheet. Non-current assets are held for more than a year (factories, land, long-term investments). Current assets turn into cash within a year (cash, stock, money owed by customers).

For banks, total assets is a measure of size, and most of it is loans and investments funded by depositors' money. On its own a big asset base does not mean a company is valuable; what matters is how much profit it earns on those assets and how much of them is funded by debt.

Example. Zenith Bank's total assets were ₦31.5 trillion at the end of 2025, mostly loans, bonds and cash, funded largely by ₦26.5 trillion of liabilities.

Cash and cash equivalents is the money a company can use right away: bank balances and deposits or bills that mature within about three months. Banks show cash and balances with the Central Bank of Nigeria, which includes the reserves the CBN requires them to keep.

A healthy cash balance helps a company pay its bills, survive a bad year and take opportunities. Too much idle cash for too long can mean the company has nowhere productive to invest.

Example. A company with ₦20bn of cash and ₦15bn of bills due in the next few months can pay them without borrowing.

Inventory (stock) is what a manufacturer or trader holds before selling it. It is a current asset because it should turn into cash within a year.

Rising inventory can mean a company is preparing for strong sales, or that goods are not selling. When inventory grows much faster than revenue, cash gets tied up in warehouses. Companies that import raw materials often hold more stock when they expect the naira to weaken.

Example. A food company holds ₦30bn of wheat, sugar and packaged goods at year end. That ₦30bn has been paid for but has not yet earned any revenue.

Trade receivables (debtors) are sales made on credit: the company has delivered and booked the revenue, but has not yet been paid. It is a current asset.

If receivables grow much faster than sales, customers may be paying late or some may never pay. That is why profit can look good while cash is tight. Power companies, for example, have often reported large receivables from the electricity market that took years to collect.

Example. A distributor sells ₦10bn of goods in December on 60-day credit. At 31 December it has ₦10bn of trade receivables and none of that cash yet.

Current assets are the short-term resources a company uses to pay its short-term bills (current liabilities). They include cash, inventory, trade receivables, prepayments and short-term investments.

Compare current assets with current liabilities to judge whether a company can meet obligations falling due in the next 12 months. Banks and insurers usually do not split their balance sheets this way, so the comparison is mainly for other companies.

Example. A company has ₦5bn cash, ₦8bn of stock and ₦7bn owed by customers: ₦20bn of current assets.

Liabilities are obligations the company must settle in the future. Current liabilities are due within a year (suppliers, short-term loans, tax). Non-current liabilities are due later (long-term loans, bonds, lease obligations, deferred tax).

For a bank, most liabilities are customer deposits, which is normal. For other companies, compare liabilities with equity and assets: if a company owes more than it owns, equity becomes negative and shareholders' position is weak.

Example. A company owes ₦40bn to lenders, ₦25bn to suppliers and ₦5bn in tax. Its total liabilities are ₦70bn.

Borrowings include bank loans, overdrafts, commercial paper and bonds. Reports split them into amounts due within a year (current) and later (non-current). Banks may call them other borrowed funds or debt securities issued.

Debt can help a company grow faster, but interest must be paid whether the year is good or bad. Foreign currency loans become more expensive in naira when the naira weakens. Compare borrowings with equity (debt to equity) and interest costs with operating profit.

Example. A company owes ₦30bn on a bank loan and ₦20bn on a bond. Its borrowings are ₦50bn, and at 20% interest that costs about ₦10bn a year.

Current liabilities are what the company must pay soon: suppliers (trade payables), short-term loans and overdrafts, the current part of long-term loans, tax due and customer deposits received in advance.

If current liabilities are bigger than current assets, the company may need to borrow, sell assets or rely on suppliers' patience to pay its bills. That is not always a problem for strong businesses, but it is worth watching.

Example. A company has ₦12bn due to suppliers, ₦6bn of overdrafts and ₦2bn of tax due: ₦20bn of current liabilities.

Equity is what would be left for shareholders if the company sold all its assets at their balance sheet values and paid off every liability. It is made up of the money shareholders put in (share capital and premium), profits kept in the business (retained earnings) and other reserves.

Equity grows when the company makes profits and keeps them, and shrinks with losses and dividends. Negative equity means the company owes more than it owns, a sign of serious financial strain. Price to book compares the share price with equity per share.

Example. A company has ₦500bn of assets and ₦350bn of liabilities, so equity is ₦150bn. With 10 billion shares, that is ₦15 of book value per share.

Operating cash flow starts with profit, adds back non-cash costs like depreciation, then adjusts for changes in working capital: money tied up in stock, owed by customers or owed to suppliers. It also takes off tax actually paid.

Over time, healthy companies turn most of their profit into operating cash. If profit keeps rising while operating cash flow stays weak or negative, the profit may be stuck in receivables or inventory. For banks this figure swings a lot with deposits and loans, so it is less useful.

Example. A company reports ₦10bn profit, adds back ₦3bn of depreciation, but ₦5bn more is now owed by customers. Cash from operations is ₦8bn.

Investing activities cover buying and selling long-term assets: factories, equipment, land, other companies and investment securities. It is usually negative because growing companies spend more than they sell.

A consistently negative figure is normal and can be a good sign if the spending later drives revenue. A large positive figure often means the company sold assets or investments, which can be a one-off source of cash.

Example. A brewer spends ₦25bn on a new bottling line and sells an old warehouse for ₦3bn. Cash from investing is −₦22bn.

Financing activities show how a company funds itself and rewards shareholders. Money coming in: new loans, bonds and share issues (such as rights issues). Money going out: loan repayments, interest (for some companies), share buybacks and dividends.

A company that keeps borrowing to fund operations is a warning sign. A company paying down debt and paying steady dividends from operating cash is usually in good shape.

Example. A company borrows ₦10bn, repays ₦15bn of old loans and pays ₦5bn of dividends. Cash from financing is ₦10bn − ₦15bn − ₦5bn = −₦10bn.

Capital expenditure (capex) is money spent on long-term physical assets: factories, machines, vehicles, telecom towers, oil wells. It appears in the investing section of the cash flow statement.

Some capex just keeps existing assets running (maintenance); some builds new capacity (growth). Heavy industries like cement, telecoms and oil need a lot of it. Cash from operations minus capex is free cash flow, the cash available for dividends and debt repayment.

Example. A telecom company spends ₦500bn on new towers and network equipment in a year. That is its capex.

The cash flow statement ends with cash at the start of the period, plus the net change from operating, investing and financing activities, plus any effect of exchange rate changes. The result is cash at the end.

This can differ from the cash line on the balance sheet, because some companies count bank overdrafts against cash in the cash flow statement, and banks may exclude reserves held at the Central Bank.

Example. A company starts the year with ₦12bn, generates a net ₦3bn and gains ₦1bn from a weaker naira on its dollar deposits. It ends with ₦16bn of cash.

Net margin is net profit divided by revenue. It shows how much is left for shareholders after every cost: raw materials, salaries, interest and tax.

Rising margins usually mean pricing power or better cost control; shrinking margins can warn of rising costs a company can't pass on.

Example. A food company sells ₦500bn of products and makes ₦25bn profit. Net margin = 25 ÷ 500 = 5%, or ₦5 of profit on every ₦100 of sales.

ROE is net profit divided by shareholders' equity. It shows how efficiently management turns the money owners have put into the business into profit.

A consistently high ROE is a sign of a strong business, but check that it isn't driven by heavy borrowing, which shrinks equity and flatters the ratio.

Example. A bank earns ₦200bn profit on ₦1,000bn of shareholders' equity. ROE = 200 ÷ 1,000 = 20%. Every ₦100 of owners' money generated ₦20 of profit that year.

Return on assets (ROA) is profit after tax divided by total assets. It shows how much profit the company squeezes out of every ₦100 of assets, whether those assets were funded by debt or by shareholders.

Banks have low ROA (often 1 to 4%) because their assets are mostly loans funded by deposits; it is their high borrowing that turns that into a strong return on equity. For a manufacturer, 5 to 10% is respectable. For part-year results we scale the figure up to a full year.

Example. A bank with ₦10 trillion of assets makes ₦300bn profit a year. Its ROA is 3%.

The current ratio compares everything a company expects to turn into cash within a year (cash, receivables, inventory) with everything it must pay within a year.

Above 1 means it has more coming in than going out in the near term. It's a looser cousin of the quick ratio, because it counts inventory, which may not sell quickly.

Example. A manufacturer has ₦8bn of current assets and ₦5bn of current liabilities. Current ratio = 8 ÷ 5 = 1.6, so it has ₦1.60 of short-term assets for every ₦1 it owes soon.

Debt-to-equity divides total borrowings by shareholders' equity. A higher number means the company relies more on borrowed money.

Debt can boost returns in good times, but interest must be paid in bad times too, and when interest rates are high, heavily indebted companies feel it first. Compare within a sector: banks and utilities naturally carry more.

Example. A company has ₦30bn of loans and ₦60bn of equity. Debt-to-equity = 30 ÷ 60 = 0.5, so it borrows ₦0.50 for every ₦1 owners have in the business.