Nigerian Breweries Plc has announced an impressive turnaround in its financial performance for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025, posting a pre-tax profit of N69.9 billion.
This marks a remarkable recovery from the N65.5 billion pre-tax loss recorded in the same period last year.
The company attributed its strong performance primarily to a substantial increase in revenue and a sharp reduction in foreign exchange losses.
According to its unaudited financial statements, net revenue for the third quarter of 2025 surged by 68.91 per cent, rising to N383.6 billion from N227.1 billion in the first quarter of 2024.
Despite a 49.45 per cent increase in the cost of sales—which climbed from N145.2 billion to N217.06 billion—Nigerian Breweries reported a significant improvement in gross profit.
Gross profit soared by 103.43 per cent, reaching N166.5 billion, compared to N81.8 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2024.
However, the company faced higher operating costs as selling and distribution expenses grew by 47.20 per cent, totaling N66.2 billion against N45.01 billion the previous year.
Despite the increased expenses, Nigerian Breweries reported a strong performance from its core operations. The group posted N85.2 billion in operating profits, a 237.48 per cent increase from the N25.2 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2024.
The brewery giant also improved its financial position with an 86.65 per cent jump in finance income, which rose to N264.4 million from N141.6 million.
More notably, the company slashed its net foreign exchange losses dramatically—from N72.8 billion in the first quarter of 2024 to just N178.01 million in the first quarter of 2025, representing a 99.75 per cent reduction. Finance costs were also trimmed by 15.32 per cent, down to N15.3 billion from N18.1 billion.
As of the trading session on April 17, 2025, shares of Nigerian Breweries are trading at N36.20, reflecting a year-to-date gain of 13.13 per cent.
The company’s strong first quarter of 2025 performance suggests a positive outlook for the rest of the year, driven by improved operational efficiencies, robust revenue growth, and better financial management amid a challenging economic environment.