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Resurgent legacy firms, PZ, UAC, Unilever, others back from the brink
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- Still weighed down by unwieldy staff, overheads
Though not completely out of the woods, signs of progress are undeniable as the companies have reported back-to-back financial growth in the last two operating years.
The legacy companies, alongside their now extinct peers like United Trading Company (UTC), John Holt, CFAO, Bata Shoe Company, GB Olivant and Co. etc. had ruled the nation’s Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) market like colossus, selling iconic brands to Nigerian homes and offices.
Beginning from early 1920s till late 1980s, they played a significant role in shaping the commercial and consumer culture of colonial and post-independence Nigeria.
Their dominance was supreme and largely unchallenged. From electronics to food items, clothing and foot wears, to drugs, vehicles and machinery, they were the kings of the market.
Dominant Popular Brands
From trading activities, many of these firms grew into manufacturing and industrial giants producing iconic brands like Elephant, Sunlight and Omo Blue Detergents, Tom Tom, Cortina shoes, Planta Magarine and Vaseline, Lux, Joy, Maclean’s, Aqua fresh, Fresh, Shield etc.
However, these ancestors’ companies began to feel the pressure of nationalism as Nigeria gained and moved towards economic nativism.
While the Indigenization Decree of the 1970s, which required foreign companies to sell shares to Nigerians with representation on the management and board, precipitated the decline of these ancestors’ companies, as corrupt and incompetent government appointed boards to manage these Multinational Companies (MNCs) did not helped matters.
By late 1990s, many of these companies like John Holt, UTC and CFAO had gone into extinction. Those that are still in operation like Cadbury, Unilever, PZ and UAC went into decline, with only the carcass of their sprawling plants and once-impressive head offices remaining.
In their stead came Western European, American and Asian manufacturing giants like Nestle Nigeria, Procter & Gamble, Equinor, Sanofi-Aventis, Bolt Food and GlaxoSmithKline.
Resilience in Trouble
However, the surviving colonial companies, BH findings revealed, have demonstrated resilience by showing signs of recovery in the face of fierce competition from competitors and adverse economic shocks that have eroded the purchasing powers of Nigerian consumers.
An analysis of some selected legacy companies financial reports in the last two years indicates that they have been clawing their way back from the devastations of the last five decades.
Cadbury Nigeria Plc
One of the companies, Cadbury Nigeria Plc, saw revenue for H1’25 surged to N77.25 billion, a 50 percent increase compared to N51.44 billion in the same period of 2024 in its Half Year Ended 30 June 2025 Interim Financial Statement Summary seen by BH.
According to the report, while gross profit rose by 128 per cent to N21.86 billion, up from N9.59 billion recorded in H1 2024, net profit stood at N10.18 billion, reversing the N9.72 billion loss from the previous year. Meanwhile, basic earnings per share jumped to 446 kobo from a loss of 426 kobo.
Expectedly, the company’s management declared Profit Before Tax (PBT) of N14.5 billion in the period under review. This marked a strong turnaround from the N13.88 billion loss posted during the same period in 2024 and represents a 205 per cent year-on-year improvement, driven by strong revenue growth and improved operational efficiency.
While the food and confectionery company declared a loss of N9.72 billion in 2024, the loss was muted, indicating a slowdown from the massive hemorrhage of previous years.
In the same vein, the company reported total assets of N87.58 billion in the first six months of 2025, compared to N72.44 billion at the end of the previous year, while total equity improved significantly to N14.55 billion from a negative of N4.38 billion, driven by a substantial increase in profit.
Continuing on the path of growth, Cadbury’s net cash generated from operating activities also climbed to N20.11 billion from the paltry N70.67 million generated in the prior year.
Speaking on the impressive results, Cadbury Nigeria’s Managing Director, Oyeyimika Adeboye, attributed it to ongoing resource optimisation and disciplined cost management in the company, which instigated strong topline growth.
“Our performance in the first half of 2025 reflects a sustained growth trajectory. This has been supported by improved macroeconomic stability, particularly the relative stability of the naira, which has allowed for better business planning.
“We remain committed to delivering value for our stakeholders, particularly our shareholders. With the strong support of Mondelez International, our parent company, we are confident in the long-term potential of the Nigerian market”, Adeboye assured. Cadbury problems was not unconnected with “book cooking” scandal during the tenure of Mr. Bumni Oni, which left it with huge debt burden compounded by worsening operating environment.
PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc
Speaking during the commemoration of the company’s 120th anniversary in June 2019, the then Chief Executive Officer, PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc, Christos Giannopoulous, admitted that the company was going through a tough time, but denied rumors it was planning to exit Nigeria.
“Looking at the last three or four years, it has been challenging. We are not leaving Nigeria. We will continue to invest if we see the opportunities that exist in the future. Our sales at this moment give us valuable thing in terms of giving us the confidence to continue”, Giannopoulous had said far back in 2019.
Fast forwarded to 2025, PZ Nigeria, like Cadbury Nigeria, has seen a massive turnaround in its fortunes.
In H1’25, PZ Cussons bounced back to profitability by earning N16.6 billion profit, according to its audited financial results for the year ended 31st May 2025.
The performance, driven by stronger revenues and reduction in foreign exchange losses, showed a remarkable turnaround from the N122.4 billion loss it recorded in 2024.
Further breakdown of the report shows that revenue for the year rose to N212.6 billion from N152.2 billion, driven mainly by the home and personal care segment at N126 billion. The electronic appliances unit also boosted the firm’s resurgence by contributing N86.5 billion.
PZ Cussons’s biggest relief came from foreign exchange losses, which drastically reduced from N157.9 billion in 2024 to just N7.7 billion in 2025. This helped to turn the firm’s operating result into profit.
Finance costs also eased slightly to N3.6 billion from N4 billion, helping pre-tax profit strengthen further to N16.6 billion.
Also, total assets on the balance sheet rose to N168.9 billion from N157 billion, with current assets accounting for the bulk at N118.4 billion.
Many factors are responsible for the company’s turnaround. They include implementation of risk management and governance procedures to mitigate risks; diversification into food ingredients business, palm plantation and palm oil/kernel refinery, which resulted in the establishment of PZ Wilmer, a joint venture with Wilmar International; manufacturing of electronic and electrical appliances, as well as the acquisitions of new brands.
For instance, PZ some years back came out of its comfort zone of producing personal and beauty care products to manufacturing electrical and electronic appliances like refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, televisions, gas cookers, microwave ovens, fans, air coolers, washing machines, water dispensers and water heaters under the Haier Thermocool brand.
Likewise, PZ Cussons entered into a joint venture with Glanbia Plc to supply evaporated milk and milk powder in Nigeria by creating Nutricima, as well as other worthwhile ventures.
The pivot to other viable and commercially successful businesses, BH findings showed, had gone a long way to help PZ come out of the doldrum.
UNILEVER PLC
Another long-serving manufacturing company in Nigeria, Unilever Nigeria Plc, is also coming back to life with impressive operational and financial growth.
The company in its recently released H1 2025 unaudited report, announced a 54% revenue growth and 225% surge in profit after tax in the first six months of the current financial year.
An analysis of the report shows that the company recorded a turnover of N98.1 billion during the period under review, representing a 54% increase, compared to the N63.9 billion earned in the same period of 2024.
In the same vein, Unilever’s operating profit surged to N18.8 billion in H1 2025, up from N3.5 billion in H1 2024, representing a 444% growth.
Accordingly, the firm’s net profit surged to N14.4 billion in the period ended 30 June 2025, compared to N4.4 billion in the same period of 2024. This represents a 225% improvement.
To appreciate shareholders, who had stayed faithful to the firm during its trying periods, the board announced an interim dividend of N0.50k per 50 kobo ordinary share, making it the first time in over twenty years the company would be paying dividend.
Financial experts, who commented on the resumption of dividend payment said it underscored Unilever’s strong financial position and renewed growth momentum.
UACN
Like its ancestral peers, Nigeria’s oldest business conglomerate, UAC Plc, also bounced back from the brink when its revenue leaped to N110.41billion in H1’25 from N83.25 billion recorded in H1’2024. This translates to a massive revenue growth of 32.62%.
Meanwhile, profit before tax stood at N11.10 billion, profit after tax N7.36billion, and share price closed N66.50 at the end of trading activities on Friday, October 17, 2025.
LONG ROAD TO STABILITY
While the companies have shown signs of resurgence and return to profitability, they are not yet out of the woods as their operational, finance and sales costs are still very high compared to more prudent Chinese, Asians and Middle East-owned companies with lower overheads.
For instance, while UAC’s cost of sales rose by 22.14% to N40.4 billion in Q2 2025. For PZ Cussons, cost of sales jumped 57.9% to N154.9 billion from N98.1 billion, selling and distribution costs grew 35.3% to N17.8 billion, while administrative expenses spiked 37.6% to N14.7 billion.
As a result, goods produced by these ancestor companies are in most instances no match for economy and bargained goods churned out daily by the less encumbered Asian and Chinese owned firms.
According to Jumoke Akosile, a Senior Partner at Brednard & Co., a South African marketing firm with presence in Lagos, ancestor companies ran into stormy waters because they failed to adapt to changes.
“It is a good thing that they are now learning and adapting to changes. Before now, they had over-bloated workforce, who mostly dictate their own wages through powerful and uncontrollable unions. Apart from that, their workforce is still top heavy.
“Their insistence on sticking with the American and European models of doing business in an unequal and unfair setting like ours has not helped their businesses at all.
“They pay their workers outrageous wages and give them too much concessions, unlike their shark-like Chinese and Indian competitors, who are slave drivers.
“If you go to most Chinese and Asian-owned businesses, their workers are leave-in workers, who work throughout the clock. Their wages are also modest compared to the ones paid by these Europe-styled companies like Cadbury and Unilever.
“So, it is not surprising that their (legacy companies) products can never be competitive as long as they continue to pass the costs to consumers, who are daily looking for bargained purchases.
“Chinese, Indian and Lebanese businessmen are known for their shrewdness. You will see even their owners driving forklifts. They hardly throw money away except when they want to be philanthropic.
“But it is a good thing that common sense is now prevailing. They are now adjusting to changes, unlike some multinational companies who exited the country because they can no longer cope”, Akosile said.
