Nigerian Breweries Plc, Nigeria’s foremost brewing company, recorded a marginal growth in its revenue in the first six months of 2023.

The Board of Directors of the company announced that it recorded a revenue of N277 billion for the half-year ended June 30, 2023.

According to the unaudited and provisional results for the period which was filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), the company recorded a marginal growth in the revenue compared to the N274 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2022.

A statement signed by the Company Secretary/Legal Director, Uaboi Agbebaku, revealed that the half-year results were majorly impacted by the devaluation of the naira which led to revaluation of foreign exchange obligations and higher input costs. Other factors were the effect of petroleum subsidy removal on consumers, a one-off redundancy exercise cost and the impact of the cash crunch that hit the country in the first quarter of the year. As a result, the company recorded an escalated loss after tax of N47 billion in the half-year.

Agbebaku explained that despite the impact of these challenges, the company recorded more than 100% increase in its Quarter 2 operating profit versus the corresponding period in 2022, driven mainly by pricing, focus on premium products, as well as strong and effective management of cost by the company. The Quarter 2, 2023 operating profit was also an improvement on the Quarter 1, 2023 operating profit.

He added that despite the current impact of the policy reforms of the Federal Government, the company was optimistic that the reforms would be beneficial in the long term for the company and the country as a whole.

The Board reiterated its commitment to creating long term sustainable value for the company’ shareholders.