Nigerian cocoa-exporting company ADT Russet gets US$2.8m financing to drive market access
NIGERIA – The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), has provided ADT Russet Limited, a cocoa bean sourcing and exporting company, with 50% credit risk guarantee on a working capital facility worth N1.15bn (US$2.8m).
Apart from the absorption of a substantial part of its risk exposure in the event of loan delinquency, NIRSAL is also providing efficient monitoring of the project aimed at boosting ADT Russet’s export volume to 4,000 metric tonnes per annum.
The move is aimed to create a stronger market for cocoa export stakeholders and farmers, enabling them to have a share of the multi-billion-dollars global cocoa market.
According to Research and Markets, the global cocoa market size was valued at US$12,874.0 million in 2019, and is estimated to reach US$15,501.1 million by 2027, registering a CAGR of 4.3% from 2021 to 2027.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, NIRSAL, Mr Aliyu Abdulhameed, revealed that NIRSAL has provided similar support to another cocoa processing and exporting company in the South-West region, in Akure, Ondo State.
“We are happy to yet again demonstrate our willingness and capability to support agro-allied companies across the country to grow their businesses, engage smallholder farmers, and earn foreign exchange for the Nigerian economy,” he said.
The global cocoa market size is estimated to reach US$15.5 billion by 2027
Research and Markets
Guinness Nigeria acquires land
Meanwhile, Guinness Nigeria, has finalized a property acquisition deal with Universal Steel Limited, paving way for its expansion plan.
The industrial asset is a 10-hectare property in the Ikeja industrial hub of Lagos State.
The acquisition process, which kicked off in 2020, was eventually consummated in June 2021, with Investment One playing a pivotal role in making the deal happen, reports The Punch.
The expansion move by the brewer is aimed to further propel its growth in the Nigerian market.
In its 9 months period ended March 2021, the subsidiary of Diageo posted a revenue of N114.956 billion (US$281.25m), representing a 20% growth over the same period last year.
The company reported a Profit After Tax of N1.838 billion (US$4.5m) in the period under review, representing a 35% over same period last year.
The results show an impressive performance and a significant improvement when compared to the same period last year, a testament to an unwavering commitment to meeting consumer demands as well as the company’s resilience in a challenging operating environment.
The strong growth is also partly because of a weak third quarter of the previous financial year, when VAT increase took place and COVID lockdown commenced.
Operating profit grew by 46% as productivity savings in distributions and administration costs, and reduced spend due to some existing COVID restrictions mitigated inflation and foreign exchange devaluation impact on cost of sales. Profit after tax increased by 35%.
