Guinness Nigeria Plc has released its 2018 first quarter results for the period ended September 2017.
Here are highlights of the results;
- 30% revenue growth and 24% gross profit increase for quarter one 2018 fiscal year.
- Operating profit of N2.6bn, N2.0bn improvement compared to the previous year.
- Rights issue process concluded and oversubscribed with funds received at the end of September.
Guinness Nigeria today announces its first quarter results for the period ended 30 September 2017. The company delivered revenue of N29.9 billion and gross profit of N10.4bn representing a 30% and 24% increase respectively over the same period last year.
The results reflected continued growth within the spirits business as well as benefit of an expanding portfolio, however this was against the backdrop of lapping the inventory reduction last year.
The results, released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), also saw the company’s marketing expenses increase by 12% indicating continued investment behind its brands, administrative expenses were reduced by 17% driven by the organisation’s Productivity agenda. The company has put in place these processes and changes as part of its strategy to drive efficiencies which will help position it for more sustainable growth.
Commenting on the quarter one results, Peter Ndegwa, Managing Director/CEO, Guinness Nigeria Plc said:
“Although trading conditions continue to be difficult, we delivered a credible performance with a Net Sales growth of 30% for the quarter. This was against the backdrop of changes in commercial footprint in the prior year as well as benefit of an expanding portfolio. We also continue to see value from our focus on Productivity in areas like sales as we empower our teams for success on the frontline as well as driving efficiencies in logistics. This has released resources that we are able to re-invest behind our brands.’
Mr Ndegwa added:
“A critical part of our strategy is to expand our portfolio and as we continue to innovate with the introduction of new brands and formats, our spending on A&P is critical to driving growth not just for our innovation brands but also for our core brands like Guinness and Malta Guinness.”
In January 2017, Guinness Nigeria received approval from its shareholders to raise 40 billion naira from existing shareholders via a Rights Issue offering five (5) new shares for every eleven (11) held, at 58 naira each. The exercise which was successfully concluded at the end of August was 116 percent subscribed. Mr Ndegwa said:
“The funds raised from the Rights Issue will be used to reduce the level of borrowings and consequently our funding cost. In particular we have used the funds to reduce our foreign currency loan by 60% which in turn will reduce the foreign currency volatility on our balance sheet.”
