… net profit in Q1 exceeds 2024’s full year
Champion Breweries, the only profitable beer maker in Nigeria, was able to pull off a consistent growth over the past two years on the back of innovative strategies and operational efficiency, according to Adoga Inalegwu, managing director of the Uyo-based firm.
Inalegwu who spoke at a panel session dubbed “Accessing finance in challenging times: opportunities for Nigerian businesses” at the 5th edition of the Doing Business in Nigeria Conference (DBNC) held in Lagos recently advised business owners to be cost efficient as this will help in maximizing profits and boost revenue generation.
The MD noted that through innovation and operational efficiency, the company was able to save over half a billion in 2024, a situation that bolstered profits growth and increased top line.
“Our company is really focused on continuous process improvement. And we lean very heavily on the use of total productive management strategies to eliminate risks to cost. And we do so very intentionally,” he said. “And as a result of that, we are able to generate cash.”
Champion Breweries posted a net profit of N817 million in the 2024 financial year, representing a 120 percent growth from the N370.6 million recorded in the previous year.
This marks the second consecutive year that the Uyo-based beer maker has continued to remain the only profitable brewer in Nigeria.
Despite the steep decline in the exchange rate, Champion Breweries improved its net profit margin to 3.9 percent in 2024, up from 2.9 percent in 2023.
“Our model is based on a recordable glass bottle. And if you don’t put some efficiency behind recovering these entries on trade, you will limit your capacity to generate stock,” Adoga said at a panel that includes key stakeholders across critical sectors of the economy.
”We ended the year (2024) at 100% return of our entries. And so that has boosted our capacity to be able to produce more and to be able to sell more. So, operational efficiency is critical if you want your business to succeed.”
The company’s chief cited a disciplined approach to managing cash flow and revenue generation, stating that though the firm relies heavily on funding from distributors, it avoids giving out credit unless certain eligibility criteria are met.
‘Sorghum hedge helped save over N340 million on pricing’
Asked the beer maker about strategy adopted in financing its innovation, Adoga said the company was able to negotiate the pricing of Sorghum, a key component of lager beer at an advantaged rate.
This, according to him, helped the company save over N340 million, a situation that freed up “a whole lot of resources and enabled us to do a lot of innovations.“
”In February of 2024, the price of Sorghum was N282 per kilogram. And the moment we saw that as an opportunity, we had to hedge our procurement of Sorghum for the rest of the year at that price. Not waiting, not buying in bits, and then falling the risk of buying Sorghum at a higher price, later down the year.”
While the Champion Breweries is the smallest in terms of volume in the beer making industry, it remained the most profitable and most performing as its revenue was up by 65 percent, earnings per share grew also by 82% and shareholder equity improved by 7.7 percent.
Net profit in Q1 exceeds 2024’s FY
The company maintained a strong performance in the first three months of 2025, reversing losses in the same period last year with the first quarter profit exceeding that of full year 2024 which stood at N817 million.
According to its unaudited financial results ended 31st March, 2025 seen on the NGX, the beer maker’s profit-after-tax turned positive, rising by 219.5 percent to N984.57 million from a loss of N823.83 million in the corresponding period last year.
It also saw its revenue jump by 94 percent, doubling to N8.48 billion from N4.37 billion in the same period in 2024.
While the company made no foreign exchange loss compared to N743 million recorded in the corresponding quarter, its rising cost of raw materials calls for concerns.
The cost of raw materials rose by over 68 percent and already accounts for more than 44 percent of what was spent on raw materials in all of 2024.
But with the firm’s share price closing at N4 on Friday, April 25, gaining 4.99 percent year-to-date, it’s continued to signal improving investor confidence and modest growth amid volatility.
