NIGERIA – Amidst negative reactions to declined profits being announced by companies for the half year ended June 30, 2015, Nigerian Breweries Plc has reported a revenue of N151.7 billion for the 2015 H1.

The revenue shows an increase of 7.2 per cent above the N141.5 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2014.

The company ended the period with a gross profit of N30.99 billion, down by 8.5 per cent from the N33.8 billion in 2014. Similarly, it profit after tax stood at N21.5 billion, which is about 10 per cent lower than N23.9 billion recorded in 2014.

According to the company, the results reflect the prevailing operating environment in the country, saying it looks to an improved operating environment in the remaining half of the year. Nigerian Breweries expressed confidence that it is in a position to take advantage of any upswing in the market.

The company added that it’s repositioning following the recently concluded merger with the former Consolidated Breweries, which expanded its offerings to the market, has strategically placed it to deliver improved returns on investments for all its stakeholders.

Since after the merger, the Nigerian Breweries has also churned out products, such as Ace Passion, Ace Roots, Star Radler, Star Triple X, among others, to satisfy the demands of Nigerian consumers.

Currently, Nigerian Breweries is the second most capitalised company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). The company paid out a total dividend of N37 billion (N4.75 kobo per ordinary share of 50 kobo each) for the financial year ended December 31, 2014.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian equities market recorded its 11th consecutive decline yesterday as the NSE fell by 1.28 per cent to close at 30,970.51. In a similar vein, market capitalisation shed N137.42 billion to close at N10.58 trillion. The dip worsened the year-to-date loss to 10.64 per cent.

July 17, 2015; http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/nigerian-breweries-records-n31bn-profit-beforetax/214760/