Nigerian Breweries, 2 Others Generate N1.09trn From Drink Sales in H1 2025

Despite the high cost of living in Nigeria due to double-digit inflation and the devaluation of the Naira, Nigerian Breweries Plc and two other brewing companies generated N1.09 trillion revenue from sales of alcoholic, and non- alcoholic drinks in the half year (H1) ended June 2025.

The other two companies are:  Champion Breweries Plc and International Breweries Plc.

According to their H1 2025 unaudited result and accounts, the N1.09 trillion revenue is a significant increase of 43.2 per cent from N711.58 billion reported in the half year ended June 30, 2024.

A breakdown showed that Nigerian Breweries earned N733.19 billion revenue in H1 2025, about 53 per cent increase from N478.84billion declared in H1 2024.

International Breweries posted N340.99 billion revenue in H1 2025, representing an increase of 53 per cent from N223.2 billion reported in H1 2024, while Champion Breweries announced N15.9 billion revenue in H1 2025, up by 66.9 per cent from N9.5 billion declared in H1 2024.

It was learnt that the revenue growth was propelled by social drinking culture amid hike in cost of living, and strategic distribution—especially during Easter and Sallah festive seasons.

The industry continued to face significant challenges in 2025 such as hike in Cost of Goods largely due to macro-economic headwinds, currency depreciation and higher petrol prices – averaging N939.5/litre in December after peaking at N1,184.83/litre in June 2024.

The cost pressures also impacted on operating expenses (OPEX), Foreign Exchange (FX) losses and Finance Costs.

Amid growth in revenue, the likes of Nigerian Breweries, Champion Breweries Plc and International Breweries that recorded losses in H1 2024 over Centrral Bank of Nigeria (CBN) foreign exchange policies.

However, they have recovered and posted impressive results in H1 2025. For instance, Nigerian Breweries migrated from a loss of N115.5 billion in H1 2024 to N130.84 billion profit in H1 2025, while International Breweries posted a profit of N41.3 billion in H1 2025 from a loss of N106.78 billion declared in H1 2024.

In addition, Champion Breweries announced N2.29 billion profit in H1 2025 as against a loss of N386.7 million in H1 2024. Champion Breweries in H1 2024 had reported N910.74 million loss on foreign exchange transactions as against NIL in H1 2025.

In a report titled, “Nigerian Brewery Sector Update Report: Brewing Back to Profitability,” Afrinvest revealed that the global brewery industry sales volume in 2024 declined marginally for the second consecutive year, settling at 1.78 million hectolitres.

This, it stated, was primarily due to sluggish global demand and persistently high inflation.

“Despite volume pressures, industry-wide revenue – approximated by the performance of major regulated players – rose by 3.3 per cent year-on-year (y/y) to $617.7billion, as estimated by Statista. Looking ahead to 2025, we anticipate that global brewery performance will be influenced by several key trends: (i) the deepening of premiumisation strategies for flagship brands, (ii) Innovation tailored to Gen-Z preferences, (iii) supply chain decarbonisation, (iv) strategic mergers, acquisitions, and market exit driven by profitability outlooks. These trends are explored in detail in the global industry analysis section,” the report added.

On the domestic brewery market, Afrinvest stated that Nigeria’s brewery industry revenue in 2024 significantly outperformed its base-case forecast, rising by 39.2 per cent to N1.9 trillion.

“This was largely driven by inflation-induced price adjustments across product lines and a marked improvement in consumer purchasing power following the 133.5per cent increase in the national minimum wage to N70,000 in Q3.

“The industry experienced a strong close to the year, with revenue in Q4:2024 rising 42.6per cent quarter-on-quarter (q/q) to N611.0billion – the highest quarterly revenue in 2024 and the sharpest quarterly growth. A key enabler was the resurgence of year-end social events, particularly in Lagos, where the “Detty-December” festivities contributed an estimated N111.5billion (approximately, $71.6million) to tourism and entertainment spend, with brewery products benefitting as derived demand.

“Looking forward, we project a return to profitability in 2025 for the domestic industry, with a base-case profit before tax (PBT) estimate of N215.3 billion. This outlook is underpinned by a mix of favourable external conditions (e.g., macroeconomic stabilisation and corporate income tax adjustments) and internal initiatives such as capital injections, merger and acquisition synergies, and product resisting strategies,” it added.