The profit of Fast Moving Consumer Goods companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange declined by N38.02bn in the 2018 financial year.
Although there are 21 FMCG companies listed on the stock exchange, the results of nine of them were not yet available as of the time of filing the report.
This means that the analysis covers 12 of the quoted FCMG firms.
While a few of the FMCG recorded increased profitability, some others had theirs reduced. Yet, others had their losses in the previous year worsened. Cumulatively, the companies recorded a drop of N38bn.
Some of the companies deal in items which the Central Bank of Nigeria’s had placed restriction of access to official foreign exchange on their imports.
The CBN had in 2015 placed a restriction on foreign exchange to some 41 items, ranging from food items to enamel ware and roofing sheets.
The apex bank said that the exclusion of the items from the list of items for foreign exchange was in a bid to sustain the stability of the forex market, ensure efficient utilisation of foreign exchange and derivation of optimum satisfaction from imported goods and services.
The ban notwithstanding, some FMCG companies had seen their profits fluctuate, up until 2018, when the losses summed up to N38bn compared to what they had in 2017.
Champion Breweries Plc saw its profit drop from N517.56m in 2017 to a loss of N263.81m in 2018. This shows 150.97 per cent decline in profitability.
Dangote Flour Mills Plc saw its performance drop from a profit of N15.13bn in 2017 to a loss of N1.16bn in 2018. This reflects 107.27 per cent decline in profitability.
Cadbury Nigeria Plc, however, recorded an increase in its profit from N299.99m in 2017 to N823.09m. This reflects 174.37 per cent increase in profitability.
Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc also saw its profit drop from N39.78bn in 2017 to N21.98bn in 2018. This shows a 44.75 per cent decline in profitability.
An improvement was recorded in the financial performance of Guinness Nigeria Plc as its profit increased to N6.72bn in 2018 from N1.92bn in 2017. This shows a 250 per cent increase in profitability.
Honeywell Flour Mills Plc saw a decrease of 250 per cent in its profit as it dropped from N5.60bn in 2017 to N1.78bn in 2018.
International Breweries, which recorded a loss of N1.40bn in 2017, saw a decrease in its profitability as its losses intensified in 2018, totalling N3.87bn. This shows 176.43 per cent decline in performance.
Nascon Allied Industries Plc reported a drop in its profit to N4.42bn in 2018 from N5.34bn in 2017. This shows a decline of 17.23 per cent.
Nestle Nigeria Plc grew its profit to N43.01bn from N33.72bn in 2017. This shows 27.55 per cent growth in the company’s profitability.
Nigerian Breweries’ Plc profit declined from N33bn in 2017 to N19.4bn in 2018. Although the company recorded a loss in both years, its performance increased by 41.21 per cent given lower loss value.
Unilever Nigeria Plc saw an increase in its profitability at N10.55bn in 2018, up from N7.45bn in 2017. This shows an increased profitability of 41.61 per cent.
Union Dicon Salt recorded a loss of N83.77m in 2017. This worsened as it recorded a loss of 135.19m in 2018.
