Honeywell Flour Mills Plc has reported a 1,115.17% jump in pre-tax profit for the six months to September 30, 2026, closing the half-year at N31.40 billion compared with N2.58 billion in the same period of 2025. The performance, contained in the company's unaudited half-year 2027 financial statements filed with the Nigerian Exchange on October 30, 2026, was driven by stronger gross profitability, lower operating expenses and a swing from net finance expense to net finance income.
Revenue climbed 41.29% to N233.79 billion from N165.47 billion, while profit after tax rose to N22.61 billion from N1.62 billion. The half-year pre-tax result already exceeded the N21.90 billion reported for the full financial year ended March 2026.
Gross profit expanded 184.62% to N33.66 billion from N11.83 billion, helped by cost of sales growth of 30.29%, which lagged revenue growth. Gross margin improved to roughly 14.40% from 7.15%, operating margin increased to 12.04% from 2.23%, and pre-tax margin rose to about 13.4% from 1.6%. Operating profit grew 661.81% to N28.15 billion from N3.70 billion.
Selling and administrative expenses fell approximately 18.5% to N7.37 billion, while net operating gains increased to N1.86 billion. Finance costs declined to N3.37 billion from N4.79 billion, and finance income rose to N5.81 billion from N1.47 billion, producing net finance income of N3.25 billion against a net finance expense of N1.11 billion a year earlier. Foreign exchange gains fell to N811 million from N2.22 billion, indicating currency movements were not the principal earnings driver. Earnings per share rose to N2.85 from N0.20.
The Sagamu operation returned to profitability, with revenue increasing to N46.70 billion from N35.91 billion and gross profit recovering to N350 million from a gross loss of N5.34 billion. Sagamu posted an operating profit of N1.04 billion compared with an operating loss of N6.95 billion. The Tin Can operation recorded a 65.4% revenue increase to N214.21 billion, with gross profit rising to N33.65 billion from N17.17 billion and operating profit climbing to N27.56 billion from N10.64 billion.
Total borrowings rose 60.92% to N52.27 billion from N32.48 billion at end-March 2026, reflecting heavier reliance on short-term funding. Short-term loans increased to N28.25 billion from N5.46 billion, while CBN long-term loans fell to N11.69 billion from N14.48 billion. Capital expenditure jumped to N21.47 billion from N3.44 billion, lifting construction in progress to N53.56 billion. Operating cash flow rose to N16.12 billion from N13.46 billion, and net financing cash flow turned positive at N14.83 billion.
