Amaechi Raphael Chinedu

@Official_ARC·3h

Vitafoam's profit jumped 47%. Its stock still fell almost 10%. Here's the gap

Where we start: on Monday the All-Share Index slipped 0.02% to 254,245.21, just below Friday's record, and it's still up 63.38% this year. Underneath, 41 stocks fell and only 21 rose. One of the sharpest drops was $VITAFOAM. It fell 9.97% to ₦157.20, right at the 10% daily limit, days after reporting a strong year to September: • Profit after tax rose 46.6% to ₦21.31bn • Profit before tax rose 51.2% to ₦32.48bn • Revenue rose only 5.4%, to ₦117.36bn So where did the extra profit come from? Mostly from cheaper production and much lower borrowing costs. Finance costs fell from ₦5.81bn to ₦0.97bn, and gross margin rose to about 42% from about 37%. In the last quarter alone (July to September), revenue actually slipped 1%. The lesson: a share price reacts to results compared with what investors already expected. Vitafoam's stock had more than doubled this year before Monday, so strong numbers may already have been "priced in". It now sits about 25% below its 52-week high of ₦210. Three things worth watching today: 1. Whether the selling in Vitafoam and other recent winners spreads, or whether Monday was a one-off reset. 2. $DANGCEM after touching a new 52-week high of ₦1,490 on Monday. Its analyst call on its nine-month results is on Wednesday. 3. $SEPLAT ahead of its dividend. Its 19 US cents per share (5c regular plus 14c special) qualifies on November 12. Want to see how today's moves hit your own holdings? Add your portfolio on Gopexly and follow along. Not financial advice, just what's on the radar.