Guinness Nigeria returns to profit as revenue jumps by 54%

Guinness Nigeria Plc has approved N1.008 billion in dividends for shareholders as the company recorded a 54 percent increase in revenue for the year ended June 30, 2021.

The board of the company disclosed this at the 71st annual general meeting  (AGM) held in Lagos at the end of October. 

Omobola Johnson, the chair of Guinness Nigeria board of directors, appreciated the support of the shareholders, stating that the company will keep up with its growth strategy to continue on its path of profitability.   

“We are confident that our strategy is comprehensive and robust. We are keen on making the right investments that will drive growth across board and ensure our competitiveness, despite the challenging business environment,” she said.

“We thank our shareholders for their confidence in the Board and Management of our dear company and we are committed to ensure that we sustain the momentum”. 

Johnson further explained that at the heart of Guinness’ success is innovation: “As a company, we keep tasking ourselves regarding innovation and how best to satisfy our consumers with our innovative products.

“An example is the recent launch of Orijin Tigernut and Ginger; an exciting new variant of the Orijin brand to expand profitability for the brand, while catering to a younger, vibrant demography of consumers.

“As the only Total Beverage Alcohol Company in Nigeria, we are proud of the legacies of our iconic brands and we hope to keep on turning out products that will make our consumers happy and satisfied.

“We are also glad that our promise to you last year is being fulfilled as we have been able to implement our strategies and improve on revenue projections as manifested in our financial results.

“The Board will continue to support the Management in its efforts to sustain global best practices aimed at consistently delivering business growth for stakeholders”.

Baker Magunda, managing director Guinness Nigeria Plc, expressed his confidence in the company’s outlook for the future, emphasizing that some key strategic decisions of the company in the last year increases the chances of the company’s journey to sustained profitability.

“The performance of fiscal year 2021 showed that the business delivered growth despite the challenging external environment characterized by COVID-19 restrictions and high inflation,” he said.

“Our strategic objectives will continue to ensure we leverage local opportunities, create value and empowerment through local sourcing, while taking opportunities that will grow revenue and protect our margins.”

Patrick Ajudua, who spoke on behalf of New Dimension Shareholders Association of Nigeria, noted that the financials for the year has shown a new dimension, growth and that Guinness is being repositioned from a huge negative loss to a profit in their bottom time.

“We hope that it will be sustained over time, going by the fact that we have a lot of problems in the economy and the Covid-19, our expectations are very high and from what we have heard from the management, they are equal to the task of meeting the expectations of the stakeholders” Ajudua added.

Adetutu Shiobola,  who represented the Highly Favoured Shareholders Association, said “though the dividend declared is a kobo dividend” he was “happy for that unlike last year” when nothing was declared.

“I’m happy to see that we are making some progress,” he added. 

Before returning to profit, Guinness Nigeria posted a loss of N12.6 billion in 2020.