Nigerian Breweries Predicts Tougher Times for Manufacturing in 2022, Q1 2023

Gilbert Ekugbe 

The Nigerian Breweries Plc has predicted tougher times ahead for manufacturing concerns in the country, noting that volatility of the naira, inability to get access to foreign exchange and high cost of doing business have continued to pose myriads of challenges to the real sector of the economy.

According to the Managing Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Hans Essaadi, over the last 12 to 18 months, the company has retooled its processes to weather the storm coming out Covid 19 pandemic, maintaining that it is becoming more difficult to doing business in the country.

Essaadi, at the pre-Annual General Meeting media briefing of the company, however added that despite the harsh operating environment, the company recorded improved growth in sales volume in the 2021 financial year despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation on businesses. 

He noted that although production costs increased significantly in the 2021 financial year, the company continued to mitigate the impact without imposing any additional cost on consumers.

He added that despite the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation challenges, the company recorded a significant business performance driven mainly by robust sales volume growth.

According to him, the significant increase in sales volume for the 2021 financial year despite the impact of inflation could be attributed to their innovative workforce and the recently launched EverGreen Strategy.

He explained that with innovation being its primary driver for growth, the company would continue to leverage innovative ideas to deliver superior and balanced growth by focusing on their customers and consumers.

He stated that the impact of COVID-19 created many uncertainties in the business environment in the 2021 financial year, but stated that the company saw it as an opportunity to redevelop relationships and foster stronger emotional connections with consumers by introducing new ideas and bringing back initiatives such as Gulder Ultimate Search.