Nigerian Breweries Plc has strengthened its financial position after recording more than N1 trillion in net revenue in the first half of 2026 and fully clearing its outstanding loans.
The development followed a significant improvement in the company’s cash generation and operational efficiency, with the brewer also reporting positive retained earnings and a stronger balance sheet during the six-month period.
The company’s Finance Director, Maria Karaseva, disclosed the performance during an investor call, saying Nigerian Breweries maintained an asset base of approximately N1 trillion while improving its financial position despite prevailing macroeconomic pressures.
According to Karaseva, the company recorded a 264 per cent increase in cash performance, generating N73 billion in net free operating cash flow compared with the corresponding period in 2025.
The improved cash position enabled the company to settle its outstanding loans, leaving it with zero borrowings at the end of the reporting period.
Karaseva attributed the stronger performance partly to the company’s internal productivity programme, which generated N76 billion in efficiency gains during the period.
She added that the measures contributed to a two percentage-point expansion in the company’s gross profit margin and helped support an 18 per cent year-on-year increase in profit before tax.
Karaseva said the company’s strategy during the period focused on improving cash generation, strengthening working capital management and converting productivity gains into cash.
“Our focus throughout the period was to strengthen cash generation and build a more resilient financial position,” she said.
She explained that improved cash conversion and more efficient working capital management allowed the company to generate N73 billion in net free operating cash flow, repay its loans completely and return retained earnings to positive territory.
The financial performance comes against the backdrop of difficult operating conditions that have continued to affect businesses across Nigeria, including rising costs and broader macroeconomic pressures.
The company’s latest results indicate that its recovery strategy has begun to translate into stronger liquidity and balance-sheet stability.
With its outstanding loans fully settled, Nigerian Breweries ended the first half of 2026 without borrowings, while continuing to focus on productivity and cash generation as key elements of its financial recovery.
