Academy Press Plc, one of Nigeria’s longest-standing printing and publishing companies, despite its relatively modest scale, has delivered impressive returns for investors this year.
With a current market capitalization of N7.22 billion, Academy Press ranks as the 111th most valuable company on the NGX.
Yet, size has not been a barrier to performance. The stock, which opened the year trading at N3.00 per share, has surged by an impressive 218% year-to-date as of the close of trading in August 2025, placing it 12th on the NGX performance leaderboard.
For investors who positioned early, Academy has returned. This contrasts with last year, when the stock fell by 22% YtD.
However, momentum is starting to show cracks. In the past four weeks, the stock has shed about 13% of its value. This dip highlights the volatility typical of equities.
It is important to note that Academy Press presents a classic high-risk, high-reward scenario.
On the one hand, its rapid ascent since July 2025 highlights the wealth-generating potential of overlooked small caps.
On the other hand, the recent pullback serves as a cautionary reminder that such rallies can quickly unravel if not supported by earnings growth or strategic business expansion.
This brings us to the company’s financial performance, to assess whether the rally this year is backed by fundamentals.
Academy Press has released its 2025 full-year audited financial statements (for the period ended March 31, 2025) and its Q1 2026 results (for the period ended June 30, 2025).
A review shows that the company has sustained profitability. After posting a N304 million loss in 2021, Academy has been profitable since 2022, growing pre-tax profit at a compounded annual growth rate of 51%.
This suggests a consistent turnaround story.
For the 2025 financial year, profit before tax surged 343% year-on-year to N1.17 billion, with a strong profit margin of 25%.
This indicates that profitability was not only growing in absolute terms but also improving in quality, with more profit squeezed out of each naira of sales.
In the current financial year, however, profit declined by 21% to N409 million in Q1 2026. Yet, margins remained strong at 26%, meaning the company kept N26 as profit before taxes for every N100 of revenue earned.
Based on this, the stock looks more like a steady hold for stability than a buy for rapid growth.
Based on this, the stock looks more like a steady hold for stability than a buy for rapid growth.
On the balance sheet, total assets rose by 33% to N3.8 billion, while the company cleared its borrowings, leaving it virtually debt-free as of June 2025.
This reduced its leverage from 4.29x to 1.97x. For investors, this is important: with less debt weighing it down, the company has more room and flexibility to expand further.
From the foregoing, the financial performance confirms a genuine turnaround story from losses in 2021 to consistent profit from 2022 to 2025.
The strong margins, debt-free balance sheet, and the turnaround in operating cash flow from a negative N313 million to a positive N648 million add real resilience to Academy Press, which should reassure investors.
However, the dip in Q1 profit suggests that growth momentum may be slowing. In other words, the company is financially healthier and more stable than in previous years, but the “high growth” phase seen in 2025 financial year may be behind it.
Even after the strong rally this year, Academy Press is not trading at extreme levels. Its price-to-earnings ratio of 12.1x is well below the industry average of 20x, suggesting that investors are still paying a reasonable price for each naira of profit.
The price-to-book ratio of 2.84x indicates that the market is willing to pay nearly three times the company’s net assets, a reflection of confidence in its turnaround and cash-generating ability.
Meanwhile, a price-to-sales ratio of 1.68x shows that the market values the company at about 1.7 times its annual revenues, signaling moderate optimism about sustaining or growing its sales base.
Put together, these multiples tell a story: the market is rewarding Academy Press for its resilient profitability, improved cash flow, and debt-free balance sheet, but it is not yet overvalued.
There’s room for the stock to move if earnings recover, but investors should temper expectations given the recent slowdown in Q1 profits.
Liquidity perspective
Another key consideration for investors is the stock’s trading activity. Over the past three months, 66.2 million Academy Press shares changed hands, valued at N495 million.
This shows the stock has moderate liquidity, and it is active enough for retail and smaller institutional investors to buy and sell without too much difficulty. This is very important.