Guinness Nigeria Plc’s full-year results for the period ending June 2023 revealed a staggering N49 billion in exchange rate losses, causing the company to report its first full-year loss since the financial impact of Covid-19 in 2020.
The loss per share declared was N8.29 kobo, a significant decline compared to the previous year’s earnings per share of N7.15.
Despite the forex depreciation leading to the reported loss of N18.1 billion, the company’s underlying operating profit was N23.5 billion, after adjusting for the extraordinary forex charge.
While Guinness Nigeria Plc recorded a 10.9% year-on-year increase in revenue, amounting to N229.2 billion, and a gross profit of N78.1 billion (up by 7.5% year-on-year), its operating profit declined by 2.3% to N23.3 billion.
Notably, the net finance cost surged by 20,040.1% to N45.4 billion, further impacting the company’s overall financial performance.
Despite the challenges, Guinness Nigeria Plc declared massive dividends, and the immediate impact on cash balances is not expected to be severely affected. However, the company’s exposure to forex risks remains a critical concern moving forward.
