John Holt Plc, on December 31, 2025, released its consolidated and separate financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2025.
The headline numbers told a clear story: revenue fell sharply, operating profit weakened, profit before and after tax declined steeply, and earnings per share collapsed.
But beyond the surface-level decline lies a more revealing explanation. 2025 did not merely mark a bad year; it exposed how much of 2024’s profitability was built on one-off support rather than sustainable operating strength.
In 2024, the company’s earnings profile was materially distorted by non-recurring income items that did not reflect underlying operating performance.
Together, these items lifted other operating income to N4.76 billion in 2024, masking early signs of weakness in core trading performance.
Their absence in 2025 saw other operating income collapse to N820 million, significantly amplifying the decline in operating profit and exposing a much weaker earnings base once the one-offs fell away.
Beyond the disappearance of one-off income, the underlying business also weakened materially in 2025, compounding the earnings decline.
John Holt operates across engineering, leasing, trade and distribution, with core activities including the assembly and sale of generator sets, the leasing of boats, generators and air conditioners, and the provision of maintenance, logistics and depot services.
Historically, the sale of finished goods, particularly generator sets and engineering equipment, has been the company’s largest and most volatile revenue driver.
The earnings pressure flowed directly into shareholder returns and valuation.
Earnings per share fell to 120 kobo, down 82.2% year on year, reflecting the combined impact of weaker operating earnings and the absence of one-off income.
This collapse in earnings came even as the balance sheet expanded, with total assets rising by 9.77% to N9.74 billion and shareholders’ funds increasing by 9.78% to N6.27 billion.
The mismatch between balance sheet growth and profitability was reflected in sharply weaker efficiency ratios.
In effect, the company generated far less profit from a larger asset and equity base, suggesting that balance-sheet growth was driven more by revaluations than by earnings power.
With the stock closing at N4.90, the sharp drop in EPS pushed valuation higher, lifting the price-to-earnings multiple to about 4.1x.
Investors are now paying more for each naira of earnings, not because the business was re-rated, but because profits shrank faster than the share price adjusted.
Investors are now paying more for each naira of earnings, not because the business was re-rated, but because profits shrank faster than the share price adjusted.
Market performance reflected this shift in fundamentals. The share price declined by 37% in 2025, retracing part of the sharp rally recorded a year earlier, when the stock gained 235% in 2024.
Bottom line
The next phase for John Holt is not about balance sheet growth or extraordinary boosts but about proving that its operating businesses can generate sustainable, repeatable earnings.
That is the real test investors will be watching in 2026.