Prime Business Africa
In 2025, Ellah Lakes failed where its market rivals, Presco Plc and Okomu Oil Palm Plc, succeeded, leading to a decline in confidence of Nigerian Exchange (NGX) investors in the company’s growth prospects.
Ellah Lakes had recorded a 642.72 percent increase in its revenue, which rose to N146.65 million last year, from N19.74 million in 2024; however, the company’s expense was almost nine times its turnover.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelAccording to Prime Business Africa’s (PBA) analysis, Ellah Lakes’ administrative expenses increased by 137.26 percent year-on-year, from N506.97 million to N1.20 billion, while personnel expenses soared by 27.20 percent, from N935.59 million to N1.19 billion, combined with a N16.60 million cost of sales.
It reported an operating loss of N1.87 billion in 2025, surpassing the N1.42 billion operating loss in 2024, a 31.34 percent increase, during a period when Presco achieved N214.38 billion operating profit (N126.10 billion in 2024), and Okomu earned N90,03 billion (N49.53 billion in 2024).
Also, with expenses exceeding Ellah Lakes’ revenue, the palm oil company did not register any net profit, while Presco achieved N138.11 billion net income in 2025, up by 76.84 percent from the previous year’s N78.10 billion, and Okomu Oil recorded N63.53 billion profit after tax (PAT) last year, up by 59 percent, from N39.95 billion.
Ellah Lakes’ operating loss contributed to its negative retained earnings of N6.25 billion last year, up by 11.51 percent from N5.60 billion posted in 2024, reducing Ellah Lakes’ ability to pay profit to shareholders, at a time Presco saw its positive retained earnings (PRE) jump from N126.72 billion to N192.84 billion, and Okomu’s PRE grew from N39.95 billion to N63.53 billion.
The 52.17 percent year-on-year growth in Presco’s retained earnings and the 59 percent increase in that of Ellah Lakes show both companies have accumulated more profits than losses over time, compared to Ellah Lakes, which has seen more losses than profits.
This is also reflected in the companies’ earnings per share (EPS), with Ellah Lakes managing a negative EPS of N0.60 kobo last year, from N0.71 kobo in 2024, compared to Presco, which has a higher EPS of N134.38 kobo in 2025, up from the previous year’s N77.79 kobo, and Okomu Oil boasting a positive EPS of N66.60 kobo, up from N41.89 kobo during the same period.
It’s no surprise that when Presco and Ellah Lakes went to the NGX in 2025 to raise funds, equity investors preferred the former, leading to Presco recording a 103 percent subscription level for its public offer, while Ellah Lakes left disappointed as it received low patronage that resulted in the company deciding to refund subscribers after failing to reach the subscription threshold for its public offer.
“At the close of the offer period, the level of subscription did not meet the minimum threshold required for allotment. Consequently, no shares will be allotted pursuant to the Offer,” the company said.
“In accordance with the terms of the Offer, subscription monies received will be refunded to applicants in line with the procedures set out in the offer documents.”
While Presoc successfully raised more than N236 billion from the stock market, Ellah Lakes failed to raise N235 billion through public offering and private placement, even though it extended the deadline by two weeks and offered to sell its shares at N12.50 kobo per share, which is lower than its all-time high (ATH) of N17.66 kobo in 2025.
Ellah Lakes’ inability to raise the N235 billion comes at a period when the company is in the process of acquiring Agro-Allied Resources & Processing Nigeria Limited (ARPN) from ARPN PTE Ltd to increase its revenue generation.
The palm oil producer initially planned to complete the transaction in December 2025, subject to satisfaction of all conditions precedent; however, it has now extended the timeframe to the end of the first quarter (Q1) 2026.
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Prime Business Africa is a business, economy and policy news platform founded in 2021 by veteran journalist and media scholar, Dr Marcel Mbamalu, after he left The Guardian as Editor.
Dr Mbamalu, who serves as Founder and Publisher, set up Prime Business Africa to deliver sharp, data-driven reporting on Nigeria’s markets, trade, investment, and governance trends for decision-makers, entrepreneurs, and policy leaders.
He also writes The Bottom Line, a backpage column for Punch Newspaper every Thursday.
Under his leadership, Prime Business Africa combines deep newsroom experience with a focus on accountability journalism, aiming to bridge information gaps between Africa’s private sector and the global economy.
