Guinness Nigeria Plc has reported a pre-tax loss of N60.4 billion in the third quarter of 2023, according to its unaudited result for the period, as against a profit of N9.9 billion in the corresponding time of 2022.
A report by CardinalStone attributed the poor performance to an 871.8 percent surge in finance costs.
“The breakdown of the finance costs indicated that most pressures were skewed to losses on the FX balance, stemming from the sustained pressure on the currency in the review period,” the report noted.
It added: “On the topline performance, the company reported a 27.7% YoY growth, following higher revenue from contracts with customers in Nigeria (+27.5% YoY) and Export proceeds (+48.9% YoY). Nevertheless, the company’s gross margin declined by 430bps to 30.7%, reflecting a surge in cost of sales (+36.2% YoY).
“On Q3’23/24 standalone, the company’s performance was uninspiring. Material FX loss masked the 43.8% increase in revenue, resulting in a pre-tax loss of N56.0bn in the review quarter.”
Meanwhile, the company has announced the approaching resignation of Mrs. ‘Yemisi Ayeni from its Board of Directors.
A notification to all stakeholders signed by Abidemi Ademola (Mrs.), Legal Director/Company Secretary, said the resignation will take effect from 31st August, 2024.
It described Mrs. Ayeni as a seasoned professional with over 39 years of solid experience in Finance, Accounting, Fund Management, Strategic planning and Business leadership.
“She was appointed to the Board of Guinness Nigeria on 1st September, 2018. Since her appointment, Mrs. Ayeni has conscientiously served on the Board as a member of the Statutory Audit Committee and the Chair of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee and the Special Projects Committee.
“The Board of Guinness Nigeria Plc immensely appreciates Mrs. Ayeni for her leadership, professionalism, stalwart commitment and and strategic contribution to the Company as a valued Independent Non-Executive Director.”