Guinness Nigeria Plc has published its unaudited financial statement for the quarter ended 31 March 2026 on the Nigerian Exchange, reporting a pre-tax profit of N15.7 billion.
This represents 53.19% year-on-year growth from N10.2 billion in the same quarter of 2025, driven by a strong revenue base, controlled finance expenses, and higher finance income.
Revenue rose to N122.7 billion from N118.3 billion, with the sale of brewed products in Nigeria accounting for 98.47%, while export sales made up the remainder.
Following sustained profitability in Q1 FY2026 and strong FY2025 performance, the Board approved an interim dividend of N2.00 per share, with a qualification date of 20 April 2026, totaling N4.38 billion.
Key highlights (Q1 2026 vs Q1 2025)
- Revenue: N122.77 billion, up 3.75% YoY
- Cost of sales: N79.29 billion, up 7.43% YoY
- Gross profit: N43.47 billion, down 2.35% YoY
- Operating profit: N17.17 billion, down 4.53% YoY
- Profit before tax: N15.74 billion, up 53.19% YoY
- Earnings per share: 474 kobo vs 321 kobo
Driving the numbers
A closer analysis shows that alongside revenue growth, the cost of sales also rose to N79.2 billion, up from N73.8 billion in the corresponding period.
- As a result, gross profit settled at N43.4 billion for the quarter, slightly lower than N44.5 billion recorded in the same quarter of 2025.
Other operating income rose sharply to N303.5 million, largely driven by the sale of by-products, marking a 938.24% year-on-year increase from N29.2 million.
- After accounting for N8.1 billion in administrative expenses and N18.4 billion in marketing and distribution costs, operating profit settled at N17.17 billion, slightly below N17.99 billion.
However, profitability improved at the bottom line as finance expenses reduced significantly to N2.4 billion from N7.7 billion, mainly due to lower borrowings.
Finance income strengthened to N1.04 billion from N61.3 million, boosted by a N936.6 million gain from remeasurement of foreign currency balances.
Consequently, pre-tax profit expanded to N15.7 billion, which, after a tax charge of N5.3 billion, translated into profit after tax of N10.3 billion, up 47.9%.
- On the balance sheet, total assets declined to N238.3 billion from N245.1 billion, with property, plant, and equipment remaining the largest component at N132.1 billion.
- On the equity side, total equity improved to N53.7 billion, with retained earnings at N5.1 billion, reversing a prior N5.2 billion loss.
Total liabilities declined to N184.6 billion from N201.8 billion, reflecting reduced borrowings and improved balance sheet efficiency across the period.
Market reaction
Shares of Guinness Nigeria traded flat in the session that ended 14 April 2026, closing at N499 per share, reflecting a largely muted market reaction to the period’s earnings update.
Year-to-date, the stock remains strongly positive, up 42.61% on the Nigerian Exchange, with cumulative trading volume exceeding 21 million units.
