UNIVERSITY PRESS IS BEING PRESSED DOWN

It almost certain that University Press PLC will be pressed down come its financial year end by March 2016. Or so figures for nine months to December indicate.
According to the figures, all income streams recorded decreases and most cost heads stubbornly refused to go down in step with this.
Total income for the nine months was N1398.6m down 17.8% on the N1700.7m total recorded previously.
This was as core revenue dropped by 17.5% to N1379.2m from N1672.6m, as income from other sources declined by 26.9% to N7.75m from N10.6m and as finance income shrunk by 33.7% to N11.6m compared to N17.5m previously.
Of the cost units, only direct cost behaved well. It dropped by 22 % to N616.8m from N791.1m.
Others found it more difficult to bend. Marketing and distribution costs dropped by only 5.16% to N286.5m from N302.1m while administration expenses at N305.3m was only 8.43% down N333.4m previously.
In the end, University Press profit before tax ended the period at N189.9m down 30.7% from N274.1m by December 2014.
Decoded its gain on each N100 income at N13.6 was far behind previously nine months' N16.1.
Yet that is not all. The nine months figures were apparently dragged down by far more disappointing third quarter especially in terms of revenue growth and loss on each N100 income which at N33.8 for the quarter was considerably worse than previous third quarter's N16.7.
HENCE:
* For a better year end harvest, this last quarter must not be like the third quarter.
* Somehow too, in spite of the times, overheads have to be controlled more firmly perhaps because the times so demand.

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