By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The performance of Nigerian Breweries in the brewery space has continued to be threatened by its operating environment just like others.
At the organisation’s 74th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Lagos last week, Chairman of the firm, Mr Kola Jamodu, could not hide his frustration over this issue.
He told shareholders of the company that the 2019 performance would have been better if the challenges like double-digit inflation rate in the country, rising excise duty and high input cost were not there.
In the 2019 financial year, the revenue generated by the brewer was N323 billion, slightly lower than the N324.4 billion generated in 2018 and according to Mr Jamodu, the aforementioned issued caused this decline.
He said the firm has found it very difficult to pass the cost of operations to consumers, who are struggling to survive the economic crunch.
However, he said the board and management were able to think outside the box to make shareholders happy by recording a profit after tax of N16 billion.
Mr Jamodu thanked the shareholders for their commendation, suggestions and overall support, assuring them that the company remains focused on delivering long-term sustainable value to them in line with its philosophy of ‘Winning with Nigeria’.
This assurance excited investors, who praised the board and management for being resilient in the face of the challenging operating environment.
They lauded the payment of dividend, promising to always stand firmly behind the company because of its huge prospect.
However, they urged the Nigerian Breweries to continue to work hard on trimming the cost of operations and continue to deliver value to investors.
Inflation rate in Nigeria has been in the double-digit region for several months despite efforts by fiscal and monetary authorities to lower it to a single digit.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), as of May 2020, the inflation rate stood at 12.40 percent.
Adedapo Adesanya 
Dipo Olowookere