To Avoid Repeat Of Losses Recorded In 2023, Nigerian Breweries Effects Another Price Increment

Nigerian Breweries Plc has fallen back on price increment to avert a repeat of the losses it made in 2023.

Last year was terrible for the brewer that recorded a disappointing N145.2bn loss before tax and N106.3bn loss after tax.

The company was significantly affected by the redesign of the naira notes, resulting in cash shortages that severely hampered social and economic activities.

The cash shortage coupled with naira devaluation and foreign exchange shortages set the tone for a turbulent year for Nigerian Breweries.

But the company is using price increment to hedge against high production cost that may lead to another loss.

Nigerian Breweries had in a letter dated Monday, February 12, 2024, communicated a price review that became effective from Monday, February 19, 2024.

It became necessary to offset the impact of increased production expenses driven by a general rising cost of manufacturing in Nigeria.

In a fresh development on Monday, the company notified customers around the West zone of another round of price hike.

This time, the company said the new prices will be effective March 15, 2024.

“As earlier informed, we will review the prices of some of our SKUs effective Friday 15th March 2024. This review has become necessary because of the continued rising input cost and the need to mitigate the impact.

“All open orders in our system at 00.00hrs on Friday 15th of March, 2024 will be invoiced at the new prices,” the notice signed by the company’s zonal business manager, Lekan Awosanya said.

Many factors influenced the company’s loss in 2023. For instance, its unaudited financial record for 2023 said it recorded net loss on foreign exchange transactions of N153.33bn up from N26.3bn while net finance cost rose to N36.4bn from N8.4bn in 2022.