Revenue of US firms in Nigeria fall by 26.5% in 2020

Profit of American companies in Nigeria fell by 26.5 percent in 2020 to N1.08 trillion from N1.47 trillion recorded in 2019.

The figures were disclosed by Dipo Faulkner, the President of the American Business Council during the presentation of the association 2020 in-house survey –titled Nigeria Economic Impact Survey.

According to Faulkner the survey shows foreign currency access, implementation of policies by the government, heightened regulation in key industries were some of the key factors responsible for the decline in business activities in 2019 and 2020 for US companies.

He also noted that these factors were further compounded in 2020 by the disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant knock-on effect on the economy.

In her reaction, the Deputy Political and Economic Chief, US Consulate, Merrica Heaton expressed worries over the performance.

READ ALSO: Nigeria’s revenue allocation drops in Q4 2020 due to N1.48tn deficit

“When I first saw the data, I was a bit disappointed to see the decreases but hopefully, this will help us to look at where we really need to focus our efforts, and how we can coordinate and advocate with the Nigerian government to improve the investment climate and bring more US businesses and those that are here to encourage further investments.” She said

However, Heaton expressed optimism that the decline is short-term, as it was driven by the pandemic, hence the challenge according to her is a matter of what we can do and how we can work with the US private sector here in Nigeria, and how we can improve the investment climate.

A breakdown of figures from the survey by ABC shows that US-based businesses generated over N1 trillion in 2019 and spent N2.57 billion to expand operations in the last five years.

N1.5 billion was spent on Corporate social responsibility (CSR) in 2020, an increase from N1.9 billion expended in 2018, with a joint contribution of over N100 million to Covid-19.

The report also revealed a plan by US businesses to invest about N2.37 billion in the country over the next three years.

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