Nigerian Breweries hits N1trn in 2024 revenue as marketing spend soars
By Seun Johnson
Nigerian Breweries Plc has crossed a major financial benchmark, recording N1.1 trillion in revenue for the 2024 financial year, the highest in history of the brewing company.
The disclosure was made on Thursday at the company’s 2025 Media Briefing held at the Sheraton Hotel in Lagos, where the management team revealed that marketing, distribution, and administrative expenses rose from ₦127 billion in 2023 to ₦184 billion in 2024, a 45% increase.
According to the Managing Director, Hans Essaadi, the N1.1 trillion revenue marks an 81 per cent increase from the company’s 2023 revenue of N599.5 billion. He noted that the cost of goods sold rose by 98 per cent, driven by high inflation and the impact of the Naira devaluation.
Despite these challenges, Esaadi revealed that the operating profit grew by 59 per cent, supported by disciplined cost management. He stressed that net finance costs surged by 34 per cent to N253 billion, mainly due to higher interest expenses and the foreign exchange impact on payables.
This he said weighed heavily on the bottom line, pushing the net loss up by 36 per cent to N145 billion.
He explained that the company’s 2024 results were shaped by a complex and challenging business environment, significantly impacting operations and livelihoods nationwide.
“In spite of these hurdles, Nigerian Breweries demonstrated resilience through strategic adaptations, including a recapitalisation of the company through a rights issue.
“It was also resilient through increased local sourcing, innovation and further diversification through the completion of the acquisition of majority stakes in Distell Wines and Spirits Nigeria Ltd.
“Our ambition is to leverage diversity, promote equity, and embed inclusion to create business value in a fast-changing and complex environment, which positively impacts our customers and consumers and benefits the company,” he said.
In his presentation, Uaboi Agbebaku, the company’s Secretary hinted that despite the decision to suspend operation in two of its breweries due to naira depreciation, inflation, foreign exchange difficulties and low consumer disposable, the company was still able to meet the demand of the market and satisfy consumers, saying it has been able to maximize its footprints.
According to its Marketing Director, Emmanuel Oriakhi, Nigerian Breweries has continued to innovate despite the challenges and turbulence. He explained that consumers will continue to see great innovations coming out from the company.
“Our innovations have not only been about taste, they’ve also been about pack price. This is largely because of the economic challenges as you all know it. And so we have had to introduce packaging that really plays at the price point,” he stated.
While identifying Maltina as the biggest brand in their portfolio, Oriakhi stressed that the company will continue to win with the Heineken brand which is one of the most exciting beer brands that continues to grow despite the obvious
challenges and the difficulties it has faced.
Recognizing the media briefing is an attempt to intimate the public on relevant information about the company, Sade Morgan, Corporate Affairs Director, Nigerian Breweries, explained that 2024 was a challenging year for business in Nigeria.
“This was a fallout of the economic slump of 2023, followed by a narrow decline, and all of this also led to a cash crunch, along with foreign exchange scarcity, high inflation and a wealth crisis and we all lived through it.
“In spite of these challenges, we shaped our organisation for transformational growth to meet the needs of our customers and consumers all over Nigeria and beyond.
“So we remain committed to our purpose and are perfectly in the joy of true togetherness and inspiring a better world,” she said.
Phil Aneke, Digital & Tech Director stated that Nigerian Breweries is drawing strength from its connection to Heineken, access to global tools and technology, and distilling all these into what it needs as an organization to triumph in the business environment.
He said, “We have a list of innovations that have been co-created with our colleagues across various functions, building on five pillars, the first of which is the route to consumers. We have a platform, an e-commerce platform, we are actually the first big-rich organization in this region. We interact directly with other businesses. We have also focused on our distributors, supporting them to future-fit their businesses along with us, what we call the distributor management system,”
Founded in 1946, Nigerian Breweries Plc is a subsidiary of Heineken and is the pioneer and largest brewing company in Nigeria. Its portfolio includes brands such as Star Lager, Heineken, Gulder, Amstel Malta, and Fayrouz.
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