Guinness Nigeria Plc has staged a remarkable financial recovery, posting a profit after tax of N41 billion in its audited 18-month results ended December 31, 2025.
The performance marks the company’s first return to profitability since 2023, underscoring a significant turnaround for the brewing giant after consecutive years of losses.
Earnings per share (EPS) rose sharply to N18.79, while retained losses narrowed dramatically to N5.218 billion from N46 billion recorded in 2024.
The improvement places the company on track to fully clear its retained losses and potentially resume dividend payments in 2026, subject to sustained performance.
In a statement accompanying the results, the company said: “We are pleased to report Guinness Nigeria PLC’s eighteen-month results, which demonstrate resilience and unwavering focus, resulting in stellar financial performance despite the intense competitive landscape.”
Gross profit came in at N240.5 billion, translating to a robust gross margin of 31 percent. The strengthened earnings profile significantly improved key financial ratios. Operating profit is now more than 3.5 times the company’s interest expenses, reflecting enhanced capacity to service debt.
The balance sheet also showed notable improvement. For every N1 in equity, the company now holds N5 in assets, a sharp moderation from the highly leveraged position of about N106 in assets per N1 equity recorded in 2024. Shareholders’ funds rose to N43 billion from N2 billion as of December 2024, bolstering financial stability.
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Nigeria remains the company’s dominant market, accounting for over 98 percent of total revenue. Management expects revenue growth to be sustained in 2026, supported by improving macroeconomic indicators, including moderating inflation, relatively stable interest rates, and greater foreign exchange stability.
Significantly, the company reported zero foreign exchange losses in 2025, compared to a N92 billion forex loss in 2024—a development that materially strengthened bottom-line performance.
However, profitability margins remain relatively thin. In the financial year ended June 30, 2025, the company retained N3.50 for every N100 of revenue, trailing competitors such as Nigerian Breweries Plc, which retained N6.80, and International Breweries Plc at N10.20
Although net profit margins improved in the quarters ended September and December 2025 to 10.23 percent and 10.98 percent respectively, they remain below optimal levels.
The company’s current ratio stands at 0.59, indicating that current assets are insufficient to fully cover short-term liabilities. This could place pressure on liquidity and necessitate careful working capital management or external financing support.
Following the release of its audited 2025 results on February 17, 2026, Guinness Nigeria’s share price surged by 9.8 percent, lifting its year-to-date gain to 0.3 percent. The rally builds on an impressive 398 percent year-to-date gain recorded in 2025, signaling renewed investor confidence.
The prospect of a dividend resumption in 2026 adds further optimism. If the company sustains its earnings trajectory and fully eliminates retained losses, shareholders could see a return to payouts after a multi-year hiatus.