Palm oil business is the new fintech except that it comes with real PROFITS, not just valuations. When you read the financial results of Okomu Oil and Presco, you will understand where the value is located right now in Nigeria. Today, Presco continues the spectacular results:

“Presco Plc has recorded an exceptional financial performance for the 2024 fiscal year, reporting a staggering N128 billion pre-tax profit, marking a 156.05% increase from the N50 billion recorded in 2023. The palm oil producer’s latest financial results, released on January 31, 2025, show robust growth across key metrics, with revenue, profits, and asset valuation all reaching new highs.”

The palm oil category has outperformed many banks in the country and you are right to anoint it as the new gold and bitcoin. Tekedia Capital is looking for builders in this space: Simply, the data looks great, and agro-allied & agro-processing companies in Nigeria have promises. Indeed when no one can find US dollars to import food items, and We The People must still eat, the local products will have moments. Indeed, this is a moment for agro in Nigeria, and young people should get into it.

With cosmetics, makeup, etc becoming a norm in the beauty space, palm oil is the new gold. You cannot produce enough palm oil these days because everyone needs it to create makeup. Tekedia Capital stands with farmers, agro-allied startups like Vetsark, Winich Farms, etc we have invested in. We want more because palm oil is the agro-bitcoin when you look at the profits these companies are declaring.

Are you building the new Presco? We want to know at Tekedia Capital capital.tekedia.com.

Presco Plc has recorded an exceptional financial performance for the 2024 fiscal year, reporting a staggering N128 billion pre-tax profit, marking a 156.05% increase from the N50 billion recorded in 2023.

The palm oil producer’s latest financial results, released on January 31, 2025, show robust growth across key metrics, with revenue, profits, and asset valuation all reaching new highs.

The company’s fourth-quarter results were particularly strong, with pre-tax profit surging by 233.46% to N60.9 billion, a remarkable increase from the N18.2 billion reported during the same period last year. Fourth-quarter revenue also experienced a sharp rise, reaching N69.5 billion, which represents a 172.34% increase from N25.5 billion recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023.

For the full year 2024, Presco’s total revenue hit N198.1 billion, nearly doubling the N102.4 billion it recorded in 2023, reflecting a 93.48% year-on-year increase. The bulk of this revenue came from Nigeria, which accounted for 90.2% of total sales, amounting to N179.1 billion, while Ghana contributed N18.9 billion.

The company’s crude and refined palm oil products remained the primary driver of revenue, bringing in N198.14 billion, which represented 99.92% of total earnings. Meanwhile, the sale of mill by-products contributed only a modest N15.7 million to overall revenue.

However, operational costs also rose significantly. The cost of sales climbed by 68.66%, increasing from N37.3 billion in 2023 to N63 billion in 2024. The largest portion of this increase came from mill processing, refinery operations, and packaging costs, which collectively accounted for 47.8% of total production expenses.

Additionally, maintenance of mature plantings, harvesting, and laboratory expenses contributed 26.3%, while employee wages and benefits made up 14.95%. Other miscellaneous costs accounted for the remaining portion.

Presco’s gross profit more than doubled, soaring by 107.74% to N135 billion, up from N65 billion in the previous year. The company’s administrative expenses also increased, growing by 39.91% to N33 billion, largely driven by higher staff costs, management fees, and transportation expenses.

Meanwhile, selling and distribution expenses rose sharply by 81.12% to N2.8 billion, with most of this increase attributed to road transportation costs for finished products, which amounted to N2.6 billion of the total.

One of the key factors that contributed to Presco’s stellar profit growth was its foreign exchange gains and asset revaluation adjustments. The company reported an exchange rate gain of N6.1 billion, reflecting a 40.39% increase from the N4.3 billion recorded in 2023. Additionally, the revaluation of its biological assets, which includes the valuation of its palm plantations, saw a dramatic increase.

The gain from biological asset revaluation soared by 102.86%, reaching N24.8 billion, compared to N12.2 billion recorded in the previous year.

However, Presco’s finance costs continued to rise, reaching N12.7 billion, a 38.89% increase from the N9.2 billion recorded in 2023. A significant portion of this increase came from interest expenses on loans, which amounted to N12 billion. Nevertheless, the company experienced a major boost in finance income, which skyrocketed by 5,467.18% to N2.6 billion, a dramatic surge from the N48.1 million recorded the previous year.

As a result of these combined factors, Presco’s pre-tax profit for 2024 reached N128 billion, a significant improvement from N50 billion reported in 2023, cementing its position as one of Nigeria’s most profitable palm oil producers.

Presco’s asset base also witnessed substantial expansion during the year. The company’s total assets surged to N422 billion, a dramatic increase compared to N170.3 billion in 2023. This growth was driven by increases in both non-current and current assets. Non-current assets reached N233.5 billion, with property, plant, and equipment making up 67.5% of this total, while intangible assets contributed 28.4%. Current assets also more than doubled, reaching N188.4 billion, compared to N68.5 billion in the prior year. This increase was primarily driven by the growth in biological assets and trade receivables.

The company’s continued investment in plantation expansion, refining capabilities, and operational efficiency has enabled it to capitalize on the growing demand for palm oil products. However, rising production costs, foreign exchange fluctuations, and economic uncertainties remain potential challenges that could impact future growth.

Nigeria’s leadership in palm oil production has decreased over time, from 43% of the world’s production in the 1960s to less than 2% today.

Annual demand for palm oil in Nigeria currently stands at around 3 million metric tons, while annual production remains low at around 1.4 million metric tons. This is because Nigeria currently spends about 500 billion annually on imports to fill the deficit in production.

However, there has been an uptick, thanks to companies like Presco. In 2023, the production of palm oil in Nigeria reached 1.4 million metric tons. Between 2009 and 2023, the production quantity generally increased, registering the highest growth in 2010, when it grew by roughly 14 percent. From 2014 onwards, the output from palm oil production has been on the rise.

OpenAI has announced a new AI-powered research tool called ChatGPT Deep Research, designed to help users conduct thorough investigations across various fields, including finance, science, policy, and engineering.

Unlike ChatGPT’s quick-response capabilities, Deep Research aims to analyze, interpret, and cross-reference information from multiple sources, providing more precise and reliable research results.

The feature, launched on January 28, 2025, is initially available to ChatGPT Pro users, with a 100-query-per-month limit. OpenAI plans to expand access to Plus and Team subscribers next, followed by Enterprise users. However, the rollout is geographically restricted, with no release timeline for users in the U.K., Switzerland, and the European Economic Area.

Unlike traditional chatbot responses, ChatGPT Deep Research is tailored for situations where users need more than just summarized answers. Whether making complex financial decisions, drafting scientific reports, or comparing high-value purchases, the tool aims to provide a more meticulous, multi-sourced research experience.

Users can access Deep Research through the ChatGPT web interface by selecting the feature in the composer and entering a query. There is also an option to attach files or spreadsheets for AI-assisted analysis. However, it’s currently a web-only feature, with mobile and desktop app integration expected later this month.

One of the defining aspects of Deep Research is the longer processing time, ranging from 5 to 30 minutes per query. OpenAI says users will receive a notification once the research is complete, reflecting the AI’s more thorough investigative process.

At launch, Deep Research’s outputs are text-only, but OpenAI has announced plans to introduce embedded images, data visualizations, and other analytical outputs in the near future. Additionally, the tool is expected to integrate with subscription-based and internal data sources for more specialized research capabilities.

Addressing AI Hallucinations and Accuracy Concerns

One of the most pressing concerns with AI research tools is accuracy. ChatGPT and other AI models have a history of hallucinations, where the AI generates misleading or incorrect information. OpenAI has attempted to mitigate these risks by ensuring every Deep Research output includes citations, source references, and a summary of its reasoning process.

Despite these safeguards, OpenAI acknowledges that Deep Research is not infallible. The company warns that the AI may still make mistakes, misinterpret data, or fail to differentiate between credible sources and rumors. Additionally, OpenAI notes that formatting errors in reports and citations remain a known issue.

A Smarter AI Model for Research

The o3 AI model, a specialized version of OpenAI’s GPT-4o, powers Deep Research. Unlike previous versions, this model has been optimized for web browsing, data analysis, and reasoning, using a method called reinforcement learning.

This means the AI learns from trial and error, receiving virtual “rewards” for achieving accurate and well-reasoned research results. The model is trained to search, interpret, and analyze vast amounts of online data, dynamically adjusting its approach when new information is encountered.

Additionally, Deep Research’s AI can analyze user-uploaded files, generate and iterate on graphs, and even embed cited images and charts from sources. This makes it particularly useful for technical and data-heavy research projects.

Performance and Competitor Comparisons

To evaluate Deep Research’s capabilities, OpenAI tested it using Humanity’s Last Exam, a benchmark containing 3,000 expert-level questions across various academic fields. The o3 model powering Deep Research scored 26.6%, far ahead of competitors:

• Gemini Thinking (Google) – 6.2%
• Grok-2 (X AI) – 3.8%
• GPT-4o (OpenAI’s previous model) – 3.3%

While 26.6% may not seem like an outstanding score, OpenAI emphasizes that Humanity’s Last Exam is designed to be significantly more challenging than standard benchmarks.

However, OpenAI concedes that Deep Research still has limitations. The AI may struggle with ambiguous or conflicting information, occasionally fail to communicate uncertainty, and still require fact-checking by users.

Will Users Actually Double-Check AI Research?

The launch of Deep Research raises an important question: Will users critically analyze AI-generated reports, or will they simply copy-paste the output without verification?

While OpenAI aims to make AI research more reliable with citations and documentation, past experiences with AI search tools suggest that many users tend to trust AI-generated responses without cross-referencing.

The success of Deep Research may depend on whether users actively engage with the cited sources or simply use the tool as a shortcut for generating seemingly authoritative reports.

Interestingly, OpenAI’s Deep Research is not the first AI tool to bear that name. Google announced a similar AI-powered research feature with the exact same name less than two months ago.

While OpenAI has not commented on this similarity, the competition between major AI companies to create the most powerful and reliable research assistant is heating up.

Days ago, Chinese AI company DeepSeek released a groundbreaking chatbot named R1, whose prowess had been acknowledged by OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman. DeepSeek took the tech world by storm, igniting fresh competition with cheaper spending on the project. Altman in response, promised that OpenAI will announce new features in the coming weeks.

However, as Deep Research expands to more users and devices, the real test will be whether it can deliver trustworthy, well-cited information—or if it becomes another AI tool that occasionally gets it wrong, forcing users to verify every claim before relying on its output.