The board of Cadbury Nigeria Plc, on Tuesday, presented its 2016 audited financials to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), showing a return to full-year loss before and after tax, with revenue from sales growing by just 8% in the period under review, following which the directors have no recommended a dividend to shareholders who received 65 kobo per share for the 2015 full year.
Turnover rose to N29.979bn from N27.825bn, growing by N4.224bn or 22.35%, faster than that of revenue, just as gross profit fell 23% to N6.86bn, as against the previous N8.93bn.
While other income increased to N61.3m from N21.263m within the period, selling and distribution expenses gulped N5.595bn, compared with the previous N5.621bn; added to administrative expenses of N2.058bn, slightly up from N1.909bn, which left the company in an operating loss of N732.852m from previous year’s N1.42bn profit.
Cadbury Nigeria recorded a higher finance income of N187.78m, which it earned as interest from bank deposit as against N156.796m and finance cost of N17.798m, a sub-head that did not exist in prior year, leaving a net finance income of N169.982m from N156.796m
Loss before tax for the period stood at N562.87m, compared to N1.577bn profit in the 2015 full year, representing a decline of 136%. Loss per share came to 61 kobo, down from the 61 kobo earnings reported in 2015.
Loss before tax arose from the N143.499m development and research cost, which grew by over 100% from N61.15m; just as foreign currency exchange gain stood at N34.638m from N15.868m.
Helped by a tax credit of N266.468m, as against a tax expense of N424.117m in previous year, loss after tax reduced to N296.4m, as against a profit of N1.577bn in 2015.