University Press Plc has released its statement of financial income for the year ended March 31, 2014, declaring a profit before tax of N348.1m.

The figure, however, represents an 11.5 per cent drop from the N393.3m PBT it posted for the financial year ended March 31, 2013.

The company’s results, which have been filed with the Nigerian Stock Exchange, showed that it also recorded a 10.3 per cent drop in profit after tax for the financial year under review.

According to the results, University Press recorded a PAT of N233.9m for the year ended March 31, 2014 as against N260.7m for the previous year.

In the same vein, the company’s gross profit dipped by 0.8 per cent; falling to N1.166bn from the N1.175bn it reported for the year ended March 31, 2013.

The basic earnings per 50 kobo share also dropped by 10.3 per cent to N54.22 from N60.43.

University Press, however, grew both its revenue and total assets by 5.4 per cent in the year under review.

The company’s results showed that it grew its revenue from N2.313bn to N2.438bn in the course of the year, while its total assets rose to N2.973bn from N2.822bn.

According to firm, its revenue is derived from the sales of printed books in and outside Nigeria.

A breakdown of the revenue showed that it realised the bulk of its revenue – N1.138bn – from the sales in the northern zone of the country. From the western zone, it generated N799.1m, while it got N502.7m from the eastern zone.

No revenue was generated from the export in the financial year ended March 31, 2014, compared to the previous year during which the company realised N37.4m from the sales made outside the country.

Following the release of the statement of comprehensive income, the Board of Directors, has proposed a dividend of 35 kobo per share for the financial year.

The dividend will be presented to the company’s shareholders for approval at its annual general meeting, which is scheduled to take place on September 25, 2014 in Ibadan.

If approved, it would be paid the next day, September 26, 2014 to qualified shareholders.

The company said the closure date for the dividend is September 1 to 4.

It also explained that the financial statements were “prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board and with the requirements of the Companies and Allied Matters Act.”