Guinness Nigeria Plc, one of the leading breweries, has announced a profit after tax (PAT) of N1.743 billion for the first quarter ended September 30, 2013, showing a marginal decline of 3.5 per cent compared with N1.807 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2012. Considering the performance of the company for the full year ended June 30, 2013, where Guinness recorded a decline of 17 per cent in PAT, the Q1 results have been seen as an improvement.
Guinness reported revenue of N22.409 billion in Q1 of 2013, showing a decline
of 5.4 per cent from the N23.692 billion in Q1 of 2012. Profit before tax fell by 20 per cent from N2.657 billion in 2012 to N1.868 billion in 2013. However, a 85 per cent reduction in tax payment, from N850 million to N125 million, improved the bottom- line of the company. As a result, PAT recorded a marginal fall of 3.5 per cent from N1.807 billion to N1.743 billion. A further analysis of the results, showed that the company also reduced its financing cost marginally by 3.5 per cent from N777 million to N747 million in 2013.
Realising that the company’s performance for 2103 was affected by high interest charges, the Managing Director of the Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Seni Adetu, had promised that the company would work to reduce its interest expenses. He said: “Our growth was bolstered by the strength of our brands, our successful innovation launches and our
continued investment in capacity and improving route to market strategy. Having said this, our profitability and margins were being impacted by higher finance charges arising from the current interest rate environment. In addition to this, the market remained challenging with continued decline in beer volumes. “We are also positive that our improving interest expense management will be reflected in a more efficient net interest margin in the coming period. Guinness Nigeria is a business with strong fundamentals and growth strategy and we will continue to focus on our route to market and delivering great consumer experiences to strengthen our position going forward,” he said.
