Yemisi Izuora
Nigerian Breweries the second largest company on the Nigerian Stock exchange (NSE) yesterday said new innovations contributes 16 per cent of its revenue for the financial year ended December 31, 2014.
The Managing Director of the company , Mr. Nicolaas Vervelde, revealed this at the company’s pre-Annual General Meeting, in Lagos yesterday, adding that company increased its portfolio of brands in 2014 with the addition of Ace Passion, Ace roots in addition to two line extension of the Star brand-Star Lite and Star Radler.
“Also in 2014 as a result with merger with Consolidated Breweries, 33 Export lager beer, William dark ale, Turbo King dark ale, more larger beer and two malt drinks, Maltex and Hi Malt together with Breezer, a blend of rum and fruits became part of the company’s products,” he said.
Theough the company recorded low growth in the 2014 financial year, it gained overall market share in Extra Larger Stout and Malt.
He said, “We were successful in the year due to large portifolio of stout and malt. We removed unnecessary costs, reducing logistics cost and achieved cost leadership.”
Vervelde, who attributed the marginal decline in profit to the socio economic impacts, explained that for decades, the company has been sourcing its raw materials locally.
He said that there are over 250,000 Nigerian farmers that are developing sorghum varieties, which indirectly and directly generates employments.
According to him, the company, in conjunction with Heineken supply chain B.V. of Netherlands and other Heineken companies, is involved in activities aimed at development of new hybrid sorghum varieties with the potential of increasing the yield/output for sorghum farmers as well as improving the quality of sorghum malt, which is a major raw material input, making Nigerian Breweries a significant contributor to the Nigerian Economy.
He noted that two yielding hybrid sorghum varieties have been developed and registered by the company adding that the company has a subsisting consultancy agreement with a Nigerian Professor on the development of sorghum seeds.
“The company has entered into supply agreements with local cassava starch processors whose activities have impacted positively in the communities where they operate.
“We have offtake arrangements with a multinational company that has huge investment in sugarcane value chain. This is aimed at replacing imported sugar in our recipe with a local substitute,” he said.
For the year under review, the company declared a profit after tax of N42.5 billion, a drop of 1.3 per cent when compared to N43.08 billion recorded in the same period of 2013.
The company’s revenue stood at N266.4 billion, from N268.6 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2013 with a recommended dividend of N37.2billion at N4.75/share.