FMN Plans $1bn Facility Expansion in the Next Four Years

Oluchi Chibuzor 

Flour Mills of Nigeria (FMN) Plc, has announced plans to invest up to $1 billion over the next four years to expand its operations.

The company’s Chairman, John Coumantaros, disclosed this recently, emphasizing that the move reflects a commitment to increasing investment in Nigeria.

According to Coumantaros, “Flour Mills’ plan to invest $1 billion in the Nigeria market will come as a confidence booster to President Tinubu whose last eighteen months has witnessed the exit of major multinationals in the Pharmaceutical and Consumer Goods sector. However, his reforms seem to be paying off; last month, Coca-Cola announced plans to invest $1 billion in Nigeria to expand production and distribution facilities.

“Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc plans to invest a minimum of $500 million into its sugar operations in Niger State, with the goal of increasing production from the current 100,000 tons to over 400,000 tons annually, Additionally, the company will allocate $100 million to establish a cassava-processing plant aimed at eliminating cassava starch imports. In the full year of 2023/2024 Flour Mills spent around N1.8 trillion on raw materials resulting in its profit declining by 91%.”

He also reveals the company’s plans to expand their breakfast cereal product line, noting that the most of the funding will be internally sourced.

“The requirement for capital is going to be very large. And of course we will be backing the majority of that, but when you grow, you can’t do everything yourself. You need to invite those experts of the best in the field to really support you and assist you and bring some of that technical expertise so we can grow more business, more jobs here in the country,” he said.

However, the company also plans to restructure its operations after local partner Excelsior offered to buy out its minority stake and go private.

“Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc plans to restructure its over twenty-two business units into five separate companies. We aim to attract both technical and financial partners to support the growth of our sugar operations and food business. We have ambitious plans for investment and expansion.

“The company is looking at leveraging on the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to expand across the continent starting from West Africa. “With the inception of the AfCFTA, we believe strongly that we shouldn’t be just looking at the Nigerian market. Our dream is to have a pan-African food business that is headquartered in Nigeria. We’ll take advantage of the AfCFTA so that we can expand our footprint into those regions,” he said.