Guinness Nigeria declares N68bn revenue, N1.31bn profit in H1

By OBINNA EZUGWU

Guinness Nigeria Plc has declared revenue of N68.327 billion and N1.3 billion profit in its first half (H1) year period ended December 31, 2019.

The revenue figure represents a marginal increase from the N67.796 billion declared in the previous half year.

The growth was mainly driven by strong double-digit growth in brand Guinness and mainstream spirits.

Operating profit, however, declined from N4.638 billion to N3.559 billion mainly due to the impact of the excise duty increase, while profit after tax fell from N2.579 billion to N1.315 billion driven by an increase in net financing costs related to short term loans. Financing cost rose from N845 million to N1.743 billion.

Commenting on the results, Managing Director/CEO, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Baker Magunda, said: “In the H1 ended December 31, 2019, Guinness Nigeria delivered results that reflected a very strong second fiscal quarter performance despite continued regulatory, competitive and inflationary challenges in the operating environment. Strong growth in Guinness, spirits and ready-to-drink (RTD) together with cost benefit from various productivity initiatives has helped to mitigate other risks. Despite the increase in excise duties on beer and mainstream spirits, the competitive environment was such that there was lack of pricing opportunities in the period to mitigate this.”

“Looking forward, we will continue to drive our strategy which has deliberate focus on key categories, growing spirits faster, continuing to innovate to meet consumer needs, and driving productivity. Whilst we are conscious of the continued challenging operating environment with double digit inflation and pressured consumer spending, we are positive about the execution of our strategy for the remainder of the 2020 financial year. We remain confident of the resilience of our total beverage alcohol portfolio strategy as a key driver of sustainable growth in the market.”