Manufacturing giants grow profit by 35% despite flat revenue

…As top ten FMCGs post N601.7bn PAT in H1’26

lRevenue stagnates at less than 1% year-on-year 

lAnalysts cite improved operating cost efficiency

By Yinka Kolawole

The largest fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) manufacturing companies in Nigeria significantly improved profitability in the first half of 2026 (H1’26), even as combined revenue remained broadly flat year-on-year, highlighting the growing impact of cost management, lower financing pressures and improved operating efficiency.

Analysis of financial results of the ten largest quoted FMCG manufacturers showed that the combined profit after tax (PAT) of the companies jumped by about 35 per cent to N601.74 billion in H1’26 from N445.75 billion in H1’25.

However, the companies’ combined revenue of about N3.53 trillion in H1’26 represents a growth of less than one per cent, compared with approximately N3.51 trillion in H1’25.

The ten companies are: Nigerian Breweries (NB) Plc; BUA Foods Plc; Nestlé Nigeria Plc; Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc; International Breweries Plc; Guinness Nigeria Plc; Unilever Nigeria Plc; Cadbury Nigeria Plc; NASCON Allied Industries Plc; and Champion Breweries Plc.

The performance suggests that while manufacturers continued to contend with inflation, elevated energy and logistics costs and foreign exchange volatility, stronger margins and tighter cost controls enabled several of the companies to convert relatively modest revenue growth into significantly higher earnings.

Companies’ statistics

NB emerged as the highest revenue-generating consumer goods company in H1’26, recording N803.68 billion, up 8.9 per cent from N738.14 billion in H1’25.

The brewer also recorded PAT of N92.95 billion, representing a 5.1 per cent increase from N88.42 billion a year earlier. 

BUA Foods ranked second by revenue but remained the sector’s dominant profit generator. The company recorded revenue of N765.12 billion, down 16.2 per cent from N912.51 billion in H1’25. Despite the sharp decline in turnover, PAT increased 12.4 per cent to N292.27 billion, from N260.10 billion.

The result means BUA Foods alone accounted for almost 49 per cent of the combined PAT of the ten companies in H1’26.

Nestlé ranked third, with revenue rising to about N650.7 billion from N581.12 billion in H1’25, an increase of roughly 12 per cent. PAT rose even faster, increasing about 28 per cent to approximately N64.77 billion from N50.57 billion.

Dangote Sugar recorded revenue of about N392 billion, down from N430.21 billion in H1’25.

The more notable development was at the bottom line. Having recorded a loss after tax of approximately N24.27 billion in H1’25, the company returned to profit in H1’26, posting PAT of N41.50 billion.

International Breweries generated about N342 billion in H1’26, virtually unchanged from N340.99 billion in H1’25. However, its PAT declined to N38.31 billion, from approximately N41.29 billion, indicating that the brewer’s modest revenue growth did not translate into higher bottom-line earnings.

Guinness recorded revenue of about N265 billion, up from N237 billion in H1’25, representing growth of approximately 12 per cent.

Significantly, the company moved from a marginal loss in the corresponding period of 2025 to N14.90 billion PAT in H1’26.

Unilever recorded revenue of about N119 billion, compared with N98.1 billion in H1’25, an increase of more than 21 per cent. PAT rose to N15.59 billion, from approximately N14.41 billion.

Cadbury also improved revenue, rising to about N83 billion from N77.25 billion. The company, however, moved from a loss of approximately N2.33 billion in H1’25 to a N3.47 billion profit in H1’26.

NASCON generated about N81 billion in revenue, up from N78.16 billion, while PAT climbed to N19.60 billion from N15.60 billion. NASCON’s net profit margin of approximately 24.2 per cent placed it second only to BUA Foods among the ten companies.

Champion Breweries completed the ranking with revenue of about N35 billion, more than double the N15.9 billion recorded in H1’25. PAT also rose to N2.64 billion, from approximately N2.30 billion.

Shift in performance

The overall results point to a significant shift in the performance of Nigeria’s listed FMCG manufacturers.

While aggregate revenue increased by less than one per cent between H1’25 and H1’26, aggregate PAT expanded by about 35 per cent.

The divergence was particularly pronounced at BUA Foods, which recorded a 16 per cent revenue decline but a 12 per cent increase in PAT, and at Nestlé, where profit grew more than twice as fast as revenue.

The recovery at Dangote Sugar, Guinness and Cadbury also provided a substantial boost to aggregate earnings, as the three companies moved from losses in H1’25 to profits in H1’26.

Overall, the figures indicate that the sector’s H1’26 resilience was driven less by aggressive revenue expansion and more by pricing discipline, operating efficiencies, lower finance costs and improved control of expenses.

However, with consumer purchasing power still under pressure and manufacturers continuing to face high input, energy and distribution costs, the ability to protect margins could remain more important than headline revenue growth in the second half of the year.

Analysts cite improved operating efficiency

Analysts said the H1’26 performance of Nigeria’s listed FMCG giants points to a sector increasingly relying on cost discipline and margin recovery rather than strong volume-driven revenue growth.

According to analysts, the divergence between revenue and earnings reflects the impact of lower finance costs, improved sourcing, operating efficiencies and, in some cases, the normalisation of input costs.

The assessment is consistent with a broader sector analysis showing that six major FMCG companies spent about 74 per cent of their revenue on identifiable operating costs during the period. Despite the heavy cost burden, their weighted average gross margin improved to 39.9 per cent, from 35 per cent in H1’25.

Analysts at Cordros Research suggest that the headline 35 per cent increase in aggregate profit should not be interpreted simply as evidence of a broad-based recovery in consumer demand. Rather, the H1’26 numbers point to manufacturers becoming more effective at protecting margins in an environment where consumers remain highly price-sensitive.

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