Economy
Nigerian Breweries Vows to Deliver Good Returns on Investment to Shareholders
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr Jordi Borrut Bel, has assured shareholders of the company of good returns on their investment.
Mr Borrut Bel gave this assurance at a media briefing held on Wednesday in Lagos.
The company’s chief executive noted that the Nigeria’s foremost brewer was confident of making investors smile as part of its commitment to the management’s ‘Winning with Nigeria’ strategy.
According to him, the 2017 financial statements of Nigerian Breweries showed that the strategy was yielding results.
“When all factors are considered, our results have been positive and creditable over the years. Despite the deterioration in consumer purchasing power, our robust brand portfolio which covers a broad spectrum of consumer needs enabled us to protect revenue and profitability,” he noted.
An analysis of the firm’s audited results showed that its Profit After Tax of N33 billion in 2017 represented a 16 percent increase from the N28.4 billion achieved in 2016, and a 10 percent growth in turnover of N345 billion in 2017 from N314 billion in the preceding period.
For Mr Borrut Bel, the positive earnings in 2017 were as a result of the “continuous focus on cost leadership.”
He disclosed that the cost leadership initiatives which encompass cost optimisation, revenue management and consumer value re-engineering, yielded savings which positively impacted on the company’s financials.
Nigerian Breweries also recommended a total dividend of N33 billion for the 2017 financial year. The recommendation, which amounts to a total dividend of N4.13 per ordinary share of 50 kobo each, is a 100 percent payout, making it the third year in a row that the company is delivering such to its shareholders.
Mr Borrut Bel ascribed the 100 percent payout recommendation as a reflection of the firm’s strong balance sheet and its overall health.
He said the N33 billion dividend payout was a considerable increase over the N28 billion paid last year for the year ended December 31, 2016.
In the course of the year under review, Nigerian Breweries had earlier paid an interim dividend of N7.97 billion in November 2017, which amounted to N1 per share. The final dividend will therefore be N25.03 billion, which comes to N3.13 per share.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
