Beer company, Guinness Nigeria, declares 11% revenue growth

Guinness Nigeria Plc has recorded a revenue of N229.4 billion for the financial year ended June 30, 2023, in spite of the severe macro-economic challenges.

Dr Omobola Johnson, Chairperson, Board of Directors of Guinness Nigeria Plc, made the disclosure at the company’s 73rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday in Lagos.

Johnson said the figure represented an increase of 11 per cent compared with N206.8 billion posted in the comparative period of 2022.

According to her, the business delivered N23.4 billion operating profit during the period under review.

She stated that company’s strong financial performance and strategic achievements reflected the dedication and hard work of its team alongside the unwavering support of shareholders and stakeholders.

“At the heart of Guinness success is innovation and how best to satisfy our customers with our products, are always top of mind for us at Guinness.

“As Nigeria’s foremost total beverage alcohol company, we take pride in the legacies of our iconic brands and we hope to continue turning out products that will ensure we retain that pride,” she said.

She added that the company would continue to strive for long-term viability while satisfying consumers regardless of competition.

Addressing Nigeria’s economy struggles, the Guinness board chair expressed hope that government palliatives among other economic and fiscal policies would steer the economy back on track to improve standard of living for people for the coming year.

In his remarks, the company’s Managing Director, Mr John Musunga, said the company was able to maintain agility and resilience for growth even in difficult times due to its organisational culture evolution.

Musunga said the value the company placed on operational intensity and performance, its willingness to define team solidarity with accountability at the forefront, and fervent belief in a multi-stakeholder approach to business impacted its performance.

“By realigning and repositioning the brands, we are also able to launch strategic activities to strengthen business fundamentals.

“The productivity of our staff is one of the main factors contributing to our current success; management and employees reiterated their commitment to ensuring that we achieve that high level of productivity.

“We believe we will continue to thrive, by constantly innovating, being committed to sustainable practices, upholding corporate governance, and community engagement.

“We are excited to embark on the next phase of our journey, and we are confident that our commitment to innovation and resilience will help us to achieve even greater success,” he said.

The Guinness MD disclosed plans by Diageo to expand its investment in Nigeria by establishing another Nigerian entity that would begin to import, distribute and market its IPS brands (JW, Singleton, Ciroc, Baileys), starting April 2024.

According to him, this has huge benefits for Guinness Nigeria and the investment demonstrates Diageo’s commitment to Nigeria.

“We will be better positioned to focus on its core business and its strength in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of non-alcoholic drinks, beer, RTDs and locally produced spirits thus enhancing sustainability, growth, and value creation for all stakeholders of Guinness Nigeria.

“The change will enable the full utilisation of Guinness Nigeria’s asset base following the expansion of our production capacity in recent years as a foremost total beverage alcohol player and will accelerate our innovation in local spirits products.

“We remain committed to making the model work and will improve it to culminate in better returns on investment for our shareholders,” Musunga said.