Cadbury Nigeria Plc has bounced back strongly, posting a pretax profit of N17.2 billion for the 2025 financial year, a significant recovery from the N28.3 billion loss recorded in 2024.
This turnaround was revealed in the company’s unaudited financial statement for the period, published on 27 January 2026.
The recovery extended into the fourth quarter, with pretax profit climbing 68.6% to N3.4 billion, up from N2.04 billion in the same quarter of 2024.
According to the results, Cadbury’s full-year and quarterly performance was supported by higher revenue, lower administrative expenses, and sharply reduced net finance costs, largely from fewer foreign exchange losses.
Key highlights (FY 2025 vs FY 2024)
- Revenue: N169.8 billion, up 31.49% YoY
- Cost of sales: N133.2 billion, up 20.10% YoY
- Gross profit: N36.5 billion, up 100.79% YoY
- Operating income: N20.5 billion, up 244.73% YoY
- Net finance cost: N3.2 billion vs N34.2 billion
- Pretax profit: N17.2 billion vs N28.3 billion loss
- Total assets: N82.1 billion, up 13.4% YoY
- Retained loss: N25.2 billion vs N37.2 billion
What the company’s books are saying
Cadbury Nigeria Plc reported full-year revenue of N169.8 billion in 2025, representing a 31.49% increase from N129.1 billion in the previous year.
- Domestic sales remained the backbone of revenue, contributing 93.1% or N158.1 billion, while export sales accounted for the balance at N11.7 billion.
As expected, the cost of sales rose alongside higher turnover, climbing to N133.2 billion from N110.9 billion in 2024.
- Even so, stronger pricing and volumes pushed gross profit to N36.5 billion, more than double the N18.2 billion recorded a year earlier.
On the expense side, sales and distribution costs rose sharply by 95.11% to N12.2 billion, reflecting increased market activity.
In contrast, administrative expenses were trimmed down significantly to N3.3 billion from N6.0 billion in 2024, helping to cushion the overall cost impact.
- After accounting for these expenses, operating profit surged to N20.5 billion, up 244.73% year-on-year, pointing to a marked improvement in operating efficiency.
- Most notably, net finance costs fell sharply to N3.2 billion from N34.2 billion in the prior year, as foreign exchange losses that weighed heavily on earnings in 2024 eased substantially.
As a result, pretax profit rebounded from a loss of N28.3 billion to a profit of N17.2 billion. After recognizing an income tax credit of N5.1 billion, profit after tax stood at N12.08 billion.
Balance sheet performance
On the balance sheet, total assets rose to N82.1 billion, up 13.4% year-on-year.
- Property, plant and equipment stood at N19.4 billion, while inventories amounted to N17.3 billion, making them the largest asset components.
On the equity side, total shareholders’ equity expanded sharply to N16.4 billion from N4.3 billion in 2024.
- Other reserves of N33.1 billion offset most of the retained loss, which declined to N25.2 billion from N37.2 billion in the prior year.
Liabilities eased to N65.6 billion from N68.0 billion in 2024, driven largely by a reduction in borrowings, which fell to N22.8 billion from N32.8 billion.
What to know
Cadbury’s 2025 results show an improvement from the previous year, after a difficult 2024.
- Lower finance costs helped ease pressure on earnings, though currency risk remains important to watch.
- Better cost control supported the return to profit, even as some operating expenses increased.
- Reduced borrowings and higher equity strengthened the balance sheet, but retained losses are still sizable.
On the Nigerian Exchange, Cadbury shares are up 12.85% year-to-date, trading at N67.60.
