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Presco Plc has approved a ₦17.09 billion final dividend for shareholders for the 2025 financial year, taking the agro-industrial company’s total dividend for the year to ₦44.66 per share.
The final payout, approved at the company’s 33rd Annual General Meeting, amounts to ₦14.66 per 50-kobo ordinary share and represents the latest distribution from a company that has continued to maintain substantial shareholder returns alongside investment in its agricultural operations.
The approval brings the total dividend declared for FY2025 to approximately ₦52 billion, based on the cumulative ₦44.66 per-share payout, following earlier distributions during the financial year.
Shareholders Approve Final Dividend
The final dividend was presented to shareholders following Presco’s financial performance for the year ended December 31, 2025.
The company said the payout reflects its approach of balancing continued investment in the business with returns to investors.
The approved ₦14.66 final dividend follows earlier dividend payments made during the year, resulting in the cumulative ₦44.66 per share distribution for FY2025.
The latest payment also comes against the backdrop of Presco’s expanding earnings base and its position as one of Nigeria’s major integrated oil-palm producers.
Earnings Growth Supports Payout
Presco’s dividend decision comes as the company continues to report strong profitability.
In the first half of 2026, Presco recorded ₦122.2 billion in profit before tax, representing a 9.3 per cent increase from the ₦111.9 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
The company attributed the performance to the resilience of its operations despite a challenging cost environment and softer crude palm oil prices.
Presco’s H1 2026 PBT was equivalent to about 69 per cent of its full-year 2025 PBT, indicating that earnings remained substantial even amid changing commodity-market conditions.
The company’s board also approved a further ₦10 per share interim dividend for 2026, reinforcing its pattern of making regular distributions to shareholders.
From 2025 Performance to 2026 Expansion
Presco’s latest dividend announcement provides a snapshot of the changing scale of the company’s financial performance.
The agribusiness has benefited from its integrated model, covering oil-palm cultivation, processing and related agricultural activities.
This structure gives the company exposure across different stages of the value chain rather than relying solely on the sale of unprocessed agricultural commodities.
The performance is also taking place within a Nigerian agricultural sector facing significant cost pressures, including inflation, logistics expenses, energy costs and fluctuations in global commodity prices.
Against that backdrop, maintaining profitability while continuing to invest in production capacity remains important to the company’s long-term strategy.
Dividend Returns Remain a Key Investor Focus
For investors, Presco’s latest approval reinforces the importance of dividend income alongside movements in the company’s share price.
The ₦44.66 per-share FY2025 total dividend represents a substantial cash distribution relative to the company’s earlier payout levels. For comparison, shareholders approved a ₦26.30 per-share dividend for the 2024 financial year.
The higher cumulative distribution for 2025 reflects the company’s stronger earnings position and its stated approach of maintaining shareholder returns while retaining resources for business growth.
However, future payouts will continue to depend on profitability, cash generation, investment requirements and prevailing conditions in the palm-oil and wider agricultural markets.
Presco Navigates Agricultural Market Pressures
The company’s performance comes at a time when Nigeria’s agricultural economy is experiencing significant price and cost pressures.
Recent data showed farm-produce inflation reaching 21.99 per cent year-on-year in August 2026, its highest level of the year, highlighting the broader cost pressures affecting the agricultural value chain.
For an integrated producer such as Presco, these conditions create both opportunities and challenges.
Higher agricultural commodity prices can support revenue, but rising input, labour, energy, transportation and financing costs can also put pressure on margins.
The company’s ability to maintain earnings growth will therefore remain closely linked to production efficiency, commodity prices and the performance of its plantations and processing operations.
Shareholder Returns and Growth in Balance
Presco’s latest dividend approval underscores the balancing act facing Nigerian companies with significant expansion ambitions: returning cash to investors while retaining sufficient capital to fund future growth.
The company’s recent financial performance suggests that it has continued to generate enough earnings to support both objectives.
With H1 2026 PBT already reaching ₦122.2 billion and the board approving another ₦10 interim dividend, investor attention is likely to remain focused on whether Presco can sustain earnings growth through the rest of the year.
For shareholders, the immediate outcome is clear: the FY2025 results have translated into a ₦17.09 billion final cash distribution, taking the year’s total dividend to ₦44.66 per share.
For Presco, the bigger challenge will be sustaining the earnings momentum needed to support future shareholder returns while continuing to invest in the capacity and productivity of its agricultural business.
