Nigerian Breweries Plc increased its profit after tax by 33.4 percent to N114.1 billion in the nine months ended September 2026, supported by higher revenue, improved gross profit and a sharp reduction in finance costs.
The brewer’s unaudited financial statements showed that profit after tax rose from N85.51 billion in the corresponding period of 2025, while revenue increased 5.4 percent to N1.10 trillion from N1.05 trillion.
Profit before tax climbed 32.6 percent to N171.68 billion from N129.47 billion, reflecting improved operating performance and lower financing expenses.
Gross profit rose 15.1 percent to N477.90 billion from N415.15 billion, as cost of sales declined slightly to N624.76 billion from N631.23 billion, despite the increase in revenue.
However, higher selling and distribution expenses moderated the gains. These expenses rose 24.3 percent to N240.94 billion from N193.85 billion, while administrative expenses edged up to N59.85 billion from N59.58 billion.
The company’s operating profit increased 9.8 percent to N179.18 billion from N163.13 billion in the comparable period, indicating that stronger gross earnings were partly absorbed by rising distribution and selling costs.
A major improvement came from financing expenses, which declined significantly during the period. Net finance costs fell to N7.50 billion from N33.66 billion in the first nine months of 2025.
The reduction helped lift earnings before tax, although the company continued to face foreign exchange-related pressures. Its cash flow statement showed a foreign exchange transaction loss of N6.11 billion during the period, compared with N282.86 million in the corresponding period of 2025.
The brewer also recorded higher income tax expenses, which increased to N57.58 billion from N43.97 billion a year earlier. Despite the higher tax burden, the company’s improved operating earnings and lower finance costs supported stronger bottom-line growth.
Its balance sheet strengthened during the period, with total assets rising to N1.13 trillion as of September 30, 2026, from N1.07 trillion at the end of December 2025. Total equity increased to N667.22 billion from N560.22 billion, while cash and cash equivalents grew to N77.28 billion from N61.14 billion.
Cash generated from operating activities increased to N172.91 billion from N119.55 billion, while net cash from operating activities rose to N150.03 billion from N61.18 billion, providing stronger internal funding for operations and investment.
The company invested N61.02 billion in property, plant and equipment during the nine-month period. Its outstanding capital commitments for property, plant and equipment stood at N74.7 billion as of September, down from N83 billion a year earlier.
The current share price of Nigerian Breweries stood at N74.00 per share as of the close of trading on Wednesday on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX).
The brewer began the year with a share price of N75.30 but has since lost 1.73 percent of that price valuation, ranking it 89th on the NGX in terms of year-to-date performance.