BUA Foods has unseated Dangote Sugar as Nigeria’s top sugar producer by revenue, marking a major shift in the country’s competitive food manufacturing sector.
In its latest financials, BUA Foods sugar earnings rose 74 percent year-on-year from N421.8 billion in 2o23 to N734.5 billion, surpassing Dangote Sugar’s N661.1 billion by 11 percent.
The development marks the first time in years that the Abdul Samad Rabiu-led company has edged out Aliko Dangote’s sugar arm in topline performance, reflecting a strategic expansion push and the successful scaling of its refining operations.
Industry analysts attribute BUA Foods’ leap to an “aggressive investment” in sugar refining capacity, improved distribution networks, and competitive pricing strategies that have enabled it to grow market share amid Nigeria’s inflationary pressures and volatile foreign exchange environment.
BUA Foods has been aggressive in their distribution and marketing strategies as evidenced in its operational expenses which rose from about N30 billion in 2023 to almost N40 billion last year, according to Nathaniel Disu, an investment research analyst at Afrinvest West Africa.
“They have no control over the raw materials costs, they have no control over inflation and the likes but they have control over their revenue and that’s what we see unique in BUA Foods compared to other players.”
The shift comes against the backdrop of broader changes in Nigeria’s consumer goods space, where firms are grappling with currency devaluation, rising energy costs, and a squeeze on household spending.
Yet, both companies managed to grow revenues, underscoring the essential nature of sugar in food and beverage production and consumer consumption.
For the first time since listing on the Nigerian Exchange some four years ago, BUA Foods recorded revenue of N1.52 trillion, more than double from the N729.4 billion in 2023.
While it posted an FX loss of N173.2 billion due to the naira volatility, the pasta, sugar and flour producer managed to stay afloat, declaring a net income of N265.9 billion, marking a 137.3 percent rise from N112.1 billion recorded in the previous year.
Dangote Sugar on the other hand reported a net loss of N192.62 billion in its audited 2024 results, primarily due to rising production costs and significant foreign exchange losses that jumped 21.3 percent to N208.90 billion.
Despite these challenges, revenue grew by 50.8 percent to N665.68 billion, driven by price increases across its product range.
Dangote Sugar, long considered the industry’s benchmark for performance, has also been investing heavily in backward integration, with its Savannah and Nasarawa projects aimed at boosting local production and reducing dependence on imports. However, these long-term bets have yet to translate into dominant short-term earnings growth.
Meanwhile, BUA’s nimbleness in navigating supply chain bottlenecks and leveraging economies of scale appears to have paid off, positioning it as the new market leader.
“This is a landmark moment for BUA Foods. It shows that the firm is not only playing catch-up but is now capable of redefining market leadership in the sugar segment,” said a Lagos-based consumer goods analyst.
