Guinness Nigeria Plc has reported a revenue of N96.081 billion for the nine months ended March 31, 2020. This represented a decline of 5.3 per cent, compared with the N101.402 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2019. The decline in revenue, according to the company was driven by impact of volume, excise duty increases and Covid-19 pandemic. Financing cost soared by 97 per cent to N3.582 billion compared to N1.817 billion in 2019. Guinness Nigeria ended the period with a profit after tax (PAT) of N1.672 billion, down by 60 per cent from N4.252 billion in 2019.
Commenting on the results, Managing Director/CEO, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Baker Magunda, said: “In the nine months ended 31 March 2020, Guinness Nigeria’s revenue declined five per cent compared to same period last year on the back of volume decline driven by the price increases that we took in the quarter and the initial impact of COVID-19. Revenue for the year to date continues to be impacted by excise duty increases which prior to February were not covered by price. We remain confident however, that the underlying performance of our main strategic focus brands/categories – Guinness, Malta Guinness, RTDs and spirits – remains solid.”
He explained that he was pleased by the work they are doing on productivity that led to decline in the cost of sales despite the fact that Nigeria’s inflation rate at stood at 12 per cent.
“Similar productivity initiatives mean that the increases in distribution expenses by two per cent, and the administration expenses by seven per cent are still below inflation. We also boosted our marketing spend by six per cent to support our brands. The operating profit declined by N2.1 billion. The recent depreciation of the Naira drove the increase in finance costs by N2.1 billion year on year, impacting profit delivery. Our business was impacted in the last half of March by the COVID-19 outbreak. This has also proven to be an economic crisis significantly impacting most businesses including ours, as much as it is a health crisis. As a proud business with 70 years heritage here, we stand with Nigeria by aligning with the efforts of the Federal and State governments to stop spread the virus across the country,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian stock market opened the week in the green as the the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index rose 0.30 per cent to close at 23,089.86. Similarly, market capitalisation added N35.9 billion to be at N12 trillion.
