Olufemi Adeyemi
Julius Berger concluded trading on August 13, 2024, with a share price of N130.00, maintaining a strong upward trajectory that has gained considerable momentum since the start of the month.
The stock recorded a noteworthy market volume of 13.17
million shares on the day, marking the highest level since reaching 17.65
million shares on May 23, 2024.
Since the commencement of August 2024, the stock has
predominantly experienced buy-side pressure, resulting in a substantial
increase of 34.02% from its closing price in July.
At the end of July, Julius Berger’s share price stood at
N97, with a market volume of 8.05 million shares.
However, buy-side pressure intensified in August, with the
stock already accumulating a market volume of 13.18 million shares within the
initial two weeks of trading.
The company's share price has surged by 360% over the past
year and has increased by more than 150% in the current year, positioning it as
one of the top-performing stocks of the year.
Julius Berger has experienced several months of favorable
price movements, consistently closing in positive territory from March to June,
before experiencing a slight decline in July, dropping to N97 from N98 the
previous month.
Since July 2020, when Julius Berger's shares closed at
N14.85, the stock has followed a consistent upward trend, reaching a peak of
N130.00 per share on August 13, 2024.
The current trading price of the company's shares stands at
12 times its earnings, indicating potential for further price appreciation.
In the second quarter of 2024, Julius Berger reported a
revenue increase to N132.8 billion, up from N120.1 billion during the same
period last year, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 10.58%.
Despite a 20.25% increase in the cost of sales compared to
the previous year, the company successfully boosted its pre-tax profits.
According to the financial statements released for Q2,
pre-tax profits rose by 12.08% year-on-year, increasing from N7.4 billion in
2023 to N8.3 billion in 2024.
Earnings per share (EPS) experienced a significant decline
of 67.50% compared to the previous year, decreasing from N2.80 in the second
quarter of 2023 to N0.91 in 2024. This reduction in EPS is primarily due to an
increase in specific expenses reflected in the company's financial reports.
In contrast, the total current assets of the company saw a
substantial increase of 76.65% year-over-year, rising from N268.07 billion in
2023 to N473.55 billion in the second quarter of 2024.
Furthermore, cash and cash equivalents witnessed a
remarkable growth of 172.90% year-on-year, escalating from N66.3 billion in
2023 to N180.9 billion in Q2 2024.
At the conclusion of the second quarter, Julius Berger
declared a dividend of N3.00 per 50k share during its annual general meeting
held on June 21, 2024.