Presco Plc (Jun 2023)


SIAT NV (SIAT or the group) was incorporated in 1991 in Belgium, with the corporate object of investing in and managing agro-industrial ventures in tropical regions. Via brownfield acquisitions, the group owns majority stakes in several agricultural businesses with focus on palm oil and rubber production and processing. The group has 140,000 hectares (ha) of plantation estates, of which 68,000ha is planted in a split of 68% and 32% for oil palm and rubber respectively. SIAT’s shares are held by Firmave S.A (86.73%), an investment holding company owned by Mr. Pierre Vandebeeck and Mrs. Maria Eurlings, and Themisto B.V. (11.58%) with the balance held by three individuals.

In 1991, SIAT acquired 60% of Presco Plc (Presco or the company) and subsequently listed 40% of its shares on the Nigeria Exchange (currently, 32.75%). In 2021, SIAT reorganised its Nigerian businesses, with Presco acquiring 100% stake in Siat Nigeria Limited previously held directly by SIAT. Consequently, Presco now contributes c.60% and c.70% to SIAT group revenue and EBITDA respectively in 2022, from below 50% before the business combination. Thus, the company has become Nigeria’s largest fully integrated agro-industrial palm processor, with six oil palm plantations, palm oil milling facilities, palm kernel crushing plant as well as vegetable oil refining and fractionation plants. The company is also the second largest listed agricultural company on Nigerian Exchange Limited (the Exchange) per market capitalisation of NGN160.8Bn (or USD340.9M) as of 5 June 2023. Overall, Presco is effectively a core part, and largest member, of the SIAT group. Accordingly, while the ratings have been assigned exclusively to Presco, its creditworthiness reflects the financial and corporate strengths of the SIAT group, and the analytical discussion below focuses primarily on the group.



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