Nigerian Breweries Hits ₦60bn Cashflow Milestone in 2025 Recovery, Targets Strong 2026 Growth

Nigerian Breweries Plc has reported a strong financial turnaround in 2025, strengthened by a return to positive free operating cashflow of approximately ₦60 billion, marking a decisive shift from the negative cashflow positions recorded in previous years.

The performance reflects a broad based recovery across revenue, profitability, and operational efficiency, even as the company continues to navigate inflationary pressures, foreign exchange volatility, and weak consumer purchasing power.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Thibault Boidin, disclosed this during the company’s 80th Pre Annual General Meeting media briefing, noting that the turnaround reflects both internal restructuring and a relatively improved macroeconomic environment compared to earlier periods.

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He said that while 2025 delivered improved stability compared to prior years, the business environment remained highly volatile, with persistent FX exposure and inflation continuing to shape performance outcomes.

“It’s not a secret that we’re operating in a very volatile environment, a very complex environment… we remain dependent on FX,” Boidin said.

He explained that despite macroeconomic improvements, consumer demand remains under pressure due to sustained inflationary conditions, which continue to weaken purchasing power across markets.

He highlighted two key factors that contributed to the company’s performance in 2025 and will also serve as important enablers for growth in 2026.

“The first one is the purchasing power… this level of inflation, the official rate of inflation, but also the perceived level of inflation, is putting a lot of pressure on all consumers,” he said.

Boidin added that government policy engagement remains central to the company’s long term strategy, particularly in advocating for stable and predictable fiscal conditions that support investment planning.

“The second, the government policy… having a stable and predictable fiscal environment helps us to predict the business and then to make our investment decisions,” he said.

A key driver of the 2025 performance was a broad based financial rebound across all major metrics. Revenue surged by approximately ₦383 billion year on year, rising from about ₦1.084 trillion in 2024 to ₦1.467 trillion in 2025, reflecting stronger pricing execution, improved brand performance, and increased market traction across segments.

Operating profit also recorded a sharp recovery, rising by about ₦136 billion to ₦205 billion, underscoring improved cost discipline, operational efficiency, and tighter execution across the business.

The company also returned to profitability, with net profit swinging to approximately ₦99 billion in 2025, representing a ₦244 billion improvement compared to the losses recorded in previous years. This turnaround was supported by reduced finance costs, improved pricing efficiency, and stabilising currency conditions.

Most significantly, free operating cashflow improved by about ₦261 billion year on year, moving from sustained negative levels in prior periods to a positive ₦60 billion position in 2025, a key indicator of the company’s financial recovery and liquidity strength.

Boidin said the recovery was underpinned by stronger execution, improved cost discipline, and internal efficiency gains, even as macroeconomic pressures persisted across the operating environment.

He highlighted the company’s production footprint as a long standing competitive advantage, with nine breweries, one mountain plant, and 21 depots supporting nationwide distribution built over decades of investment.

“We have nine breweries, one mountain plant, 21 deposits… a pretty unique footprint built over the years, over 80 years,” he said.

He also pointed to the backing of Heineken as a critical enabler of financial resilience and global operational support.

“Our majority shareholder is Heineken… that gives us financial power, and we’re able to leverage the power of Heineken Group across the world,” he said.

Despite the strong recovery, Boidin stressed that inflation, FX volatility, and weak consumer demand continue to shape market realities, particularly in the mass market segment.

He said improved results in 2025 were driven by better execution, brand strength, premiumisation, and a relatively more stable currency environment compared to 2024.

“2025 was a financially successful year for us… the stability of the naira, the strength of our brands, and a focus on premiumisation supported the growth in our results,” he said.

Finance Director, Maria Karaseva, reinforced this performance narrative, attributing the turnaround to disciplined cost control and improved operational efficiency across the business.

“Strong cost controls helped us to improve gross profit by 77 per cent and operating profit a massive 194 per cent. Net profit returned to positivity,” she said.

She added that the operating environment in 2024 was significantly more difficult, while 2025 benefited from improved currency stability and stronger brand performance.

“In 2024, the operating environment was really difficult, but in 2025, the stability of the Naira, the strength of our brands, and a focus on premiumisation supported the growth in our results,” she said.

Karaseva disclosed that forex denominated debt had been fully eliminated, removing a major source of financial risk from the balance sheet and strengthening overall financial stability.

However, she explained that no dividend would be declared for 2025 due to negative retained earnings despite the profitability recovery, a position that was also reinforced by another member of the panel, who noted that “as long as your retained earnings are negative, the law does not allow you to pay dividends.”

On risk management, she outlined three key external pressures affecting the business, supply chain stability, currency volatility, and inflation, all actively managed through financial tools and global support systems. “We are pulling out three factor, First is the sustainability of supply driven by the Middle East crisis,” she said.

She noted that while the naira has shown relative resilience under stress conditions, inflation remains a major challenge affecting affordability and consumer demand.

“The naira passed the stress test when the crisis happened… we are also using financial instruments and tools to protect us against potential volatility,” she said.

On inflation, she stressed the company’s commitment to balancing pricing discipline with consumer protection, avoiding excessive cost pass through.

“The rise in inflation, especially in food… puts a lot of pressure on consumers,” she said.

“We have a very wide tool set on how not to take pricing further… we are bringing global food practices to Nigeria to contain pricing inflation,” she added.

Looking ahead, Nigerian Breweries said it remains cautiously optimistic about 2026, projecting stronger growth supported by improving macroeconomic conditions, noting that the company has moved through key stages of recovery and is now increasingly focused on growth, even as external risks persist.

The company’s ₦60 billion cashflow recovery stands as the central highlight of its 2025 performance, underpinned by a broad based financial rebound across revenue, operating profit, net profit, and cashflow generation, signalling a more stable and resilient business structure after years of economic pressure.