Nigeria’s largest brewery, the Nigerian Breweries Plc has released its unaudited financial results for the first quarter of 2023. In an unusual quarter, the company recorded a pre-tax loss of N17.4 billion, a 182% decline year from the N20.76 billion pre-tax profit made in Q1 2022.
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The company recorded a revenue of N123.3 billion in the quarter under review, a 10.5% decline year-on-year from Q1 2022. The company recorded a gross profit of N43.9 billion, a 29.7% decline year-on-year from Q1 2022. However, the company recorded selling, distribution, and administration expenses of N42.35 billion as well as a net finance loss of N19.3 billion. The company recorded a loss after tax of N10.7 billion, a 178.7% decline year-on-year from the N13.6 billion profit after tax recorded in Q1 2022.
According to the report signed by the company’s secretary, Uaboi Agbebaku, the company was adversely affected by the cash crunch that plagued Nigeria at the start of the year.
“The operating environment during the period under review was very challenging for businesses. The impact of the cash crunch which led to a near collapse of payment channels as well as the security and safety uncertainties associated with the general
elections, created disruptions in the economy. These were in addition to the continuing headwinds of inflationary pressure with its impact on purchasing power, input cost, and operating expenses.
According to Mr. Agbebaku, the company encountered a market volume decrease of over 20% year-on-year in comparison to Q1 2022.
“The total brewed product market suffered a double-digit (mid-twenties) volume decline versus the same period in 2022. We were able to largely mitigate the volume decline impact on our Revenue due to our appropriate pricing strategy. Our Operating Profit was further impacted by a one-off reorganisation cost with a view to refreshing and restructuring the business to cope with current challenges for a sustainable future.”
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The company’s financial results in the quarter are markedly different from its performance in FY 2022, where it achieved a record-breaking revenue of N550 billion, representing a 25.9% increase from the N437 billion earned in 2021.
