Guinness records N1.9bn drop in half-year profit despite slight increase in revenue

Alcoholic beverage manufacturing giant, Guinness Nigeria Plc, has reported a 49% plunge in its pre-tax profit for the half-year ended 31^st December 2019 despite a marginal increase in its earning.

This and other details are contained in the brewer’s Unaudited Interim Financial Statements – 31 December 2019, posted on the website of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE).

Revenue grew negligibly below 1%, inching up from N67.796 billion at HY2018 to N68.327 billion in the corresponding period of last year.

Profit Before Tax (PBT) crashed by 49% from N3.793 billion at HY2018 to N1.934 billion at HY2019.

Profit After Tax (PAT) equally plunged by 49%, down from N2.579 billion at HY2018 to N1.315 billion at HY2019.

Earnings Per Share (EPS) crumbled by 49.2% from N1.18 at HY2018 to N0.60 at HY2019.

Read also: NAHCO’s full-year profit leaps by 431%

Decline in Guinness’s profit in the period under review derived largely from the firm’s inability to curb its Finance Costs, which escalated by almost 25% from N1.537 billion at HY2018 to N1.914 billion in the corresponding period of 2019.

Finance cost represents the cost, interest, and other charges involved in the borrowing of money to build or purchase assets.

A subsidiary of Diageo PLc, a London-headquartered brewer, Guinness Nigeria was incorporated in 1962 as a beer brewing firm although it has diversified into the production of non-alcoholic beverage over the years.

Listed on the main board of the NSE, Guinness has over 2.190 billion outstanding shares at the moment with a market capitalisation of around N66.150 billion.

Its dividend yield currently stands at 5.03%. Guinness currently trades on the floor of the NSE at N30.20 per share.

Guinness currently trades on the floor of the NSE at N2.95 per share.

Earnings Per Share is the profit that each unit of a company’s ordinary shares  yields  during a particular period. It is simply calculated by dividing the Profit After Tax by the company’s total outstanding shares.  Increase in a company’s EPS often reflects an improvement in its bottom-line while a fall, on the other hand, indicates a declining profit.

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