The biggest brewer in Nigeria, Nigerian Breweries Plc (NB), announced a N106 billion ($235 million) net loss for the year ended 2023.
The company attributed the loss to a mix of economic challenges and naira devaluation.
Essaadi told investors, according to Bloomberg, “It has been an unprecedented year.”
“We saw a significant decline in the mainstream larger market as a result of Nigerian consumers no longer able to afford a Goldberg after a hard day’s work.”
Nigerian Breweries problems were a reflection of the larger Nigerian economy, the breweries struggled with the devaluation of the Nigerian currency, the naira, which resulted in a foreign exchange exchange loss of N153 billion ($338 million).
High increase in the cost of food items, removal of fuel subsidy and naira redesign which resulted in scarcity of cash in circulation.
Operating profit decreased 15% despite an 8.9% increase in revenue to N599.64 billion ($1.3 billion), primarily because of increased cost of production.
Due to the forex losses, the company also had to deal with 449.7% increase in net financing expenditures, which came to N189.19 billion ($418 million).
The Nigerian Breweries board acknowledged the difficulties but maintained faith in the tencity of the company.
They highlighted their robust supply network, wide range of products, and lengthy experience in Nigeria.
