Guinness Rebounds, Grows Profit by 16%

• Guinness Rebounds, Grows Profit by 16%

Guinness Nigeria Plc, has posted a gross profit of N48.3bn for the full-year period of 2017, representing a growth of 16 per cent from the previous year.

The company, in a statement, said its operating profit soared by 131 per cent year-on-year to N10.2bn.

It also recorded a 23 per cent increase in revenue for the full year ended June 30, 2017, in the results released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

In his comments on the results, the brewer’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Peter Ndegwa, said the company’s results were driven by a relentless focus on executing its strategy and keeping costs down.

“Despite the challenging economic conditions, we have remained focused on executing our company’s total beverage strategy which gained further traction with strong growth in our international premium spirits portfolio following our first full year of distribution,” he said.

In December 2015, Guinness Nigeria said it became the first total beverage alcohol company in Nigeria when it acquired the rights to distribute international premium spirits including Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky and Bailey’s liqueur in Nigeria. This was quickly followed in January 2016 by the acquisition of the rights to distribute McDowell’s, a United Spirits Limited whisky brand.

Ndegwa added, “Our gross profit of N48.3bn is as a result of volume growth, pricing benefit and a favourable sales mix as we continued to invest in our expanded brand portfolio during the year. Part of that investment includes the N4.7bn spirits line for locally manufactured spirits which we commissioned in Benin.

“These strategic acquisitions and expansions have filled the gaps in the spirits brand base allowing us to compete across all categories of the alcoholic beverage market in Nigeria. We remain committed to executing our productivity agenda with a strong focus on cost reduction, distribution and operational efficiencies.”

Also commenting, the Chairman, Guinness Nigeria, Mr. Babatunde Savage, stressed the company’s commitment to the Nigerian market.

He said, “It is pleasing to see that the decisions we have taken in recent years have helped to position the company for sustained business growth. We are grateful for the strong support that our shareholders have afforded us over the years.”