Nigerian Breweries Sustains Loss For Third Consecutive Quarters After Incurring N105.4bn Finance Cost

Nigerian Breweries PLC has sustained a loss for three consecutive quarters amounting to N57.19bn by September 2023, a position caused by the spike in the cost of financing its loans and foreign exchange volatility, the company’s books reveal.

This was disclosed in the company’s interim financial statement for the period ending September 2023, analysed by THE WHISTLER.

Based on its books, over the last nine months, the company has posted N10.7bn in Q1, lost N36.883bn in Q2 and N9.59bn, amounting to a cumulative N57.19bn.

Nigerian Breweries is the maker of popular brands like Heineken, Star, Gulder Amstel Malt, and Maltina among other brands.

The loss declared by the company came despite growing revenues by 2.12 per cent from N339.45bn in 2022 to N401.8bn in September 2023.

In the third quarter of 2023, the company posted N124.38bn in revenue, but recorded N9.5bn loss.

The loss was majorly driven by a rise in net finance costs, which rose by 546.9 per cent from N16.29bn in September 2022 to N105.4bn in 2023.

Another factor that led to the company’s declining fortune was net loss on foreign exchange transactions of N86.8bn which arose from the depreciation of the naira. Compared to 2022, the company posted N10.3bn as net loss resulting from forex transaction.

The group however, maintained a strong assets base of N709.8bn up from N619.88bn in December 2022. NB’s total liability rose from N440.43bn in December 2022 to N597.38bn

During the period, Nigerian Breweries loans and borrowings rose to N247.8bn in 2023 from the N108.12bn recorded in the corresponding period of last year.

The group’s net cash from operating activities was negative N102.44bn. A negative figure in cash flow from operating activities shows that the organisation has not been operating profitably.

As of 30 September 2023, NB’s cash and cash equivalents was N21.13bn, up from the N14.68bn posted in September 2022.