Foremost Brewer, Guinness Nigeria, has announced a 41.18 per cent profit decline in its second quarter(Q2) result for the period ended December 31,2014.
According to the company’s result released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the company’s profit after tax (PAT) declined to N1.91 billion from the N3.25 billion that was achieved in the same period of 2013; representing a N1.34 billion loss.
Furthermore, its half year (H1) profit for the period ended December 31, 2014 took a downward posture after the firm plunged 31.99 per cent to settle at N3.40 billion from the N5 billion that was posted in the corresponding period of 2013.
The company’s Gross Profit also dipped to N15.21 billion from the N14.83 billion that was posted the erstwhile year.
Operating Profit stooped lower to N4.08 billion from the N5.55 billion that was accounted the preceding year.
The company’s Revenue also recorded a slight increase of N3.87 billion or 12.75 per cent to close at N34.22 billion.
To this end, the company disclosed that Nigeria accounted for 98 per cent of its revenue.
“Nigeria is the company’s primary geographical segment as over 98 per cent of the company’s sales are made in Nigeria. Additionally, all of the company’s sales comprises of brewed and blended products with similar risks and returns,” it disclosed.
Profit before taxation for the period followed the same trend after shaving N1.85 billion or 40.71 per cent to settle at N2.70 billion from the N4.55 billion that was achieved in the preceding day.
Recall that the company’s PBT for the first quarter ended 30th September 2014, rose by six per cent to N1.96 billion from the N1.87 billion it posted for the first quarter ended September 30, 2013.
The Chairman, Guinness Nigeria, Mr Babatunde Savage, was quoted as saying that the board was optimistic of sustaining the trend for the rest of the financial year.
“The board is confident that this heralds a return to growth for the company as we begin to reap the dividends from the investments that we have made in areas like our capacity expansion and route to consumer infrastructure,” he said.
Although the board had promised to sustain the trend but this was not the case as key financial indicators for the Q2 and H1 took a southward stance.
Source : Tribune