The board of Nestle Nigeria, once more gave shareholders and investors reasons to cheer, as it released the unaudited report for the nine months ended September 30, 2018, announcing an interim dividend of N15.853bn.
This represents a N20 dividend per share, an improvement over the previous N15 each, from the Earnings Per Share of N41.78, which improved from N28.99 each, for payment to those on the register of members when it closes between November 26 and 30. Payment of the dividend electronically to the bank accounts of shareholders who qualify is slated for December 10, 2018, enough time to enable them prepare early for the Christmas and New Year festivities.
A major highlight of the report, was that faster growth in profit than revenue, despite the huge decline in finance income, just as finance cost slowed down significantly too.
Sales revenue climbed 9.66% from N185.242bn to N203.134bn; driven still by the N129.069bn contribution from the food segment, up from N117.269bn; while the beverage segment contributed N74.065bn, as against the preceding N67.972bn. A further breakdown showed that N200.5bn worth of goods were sold in Nigeria, up from N183.345bn, and N2.634bn exported, compared to the previous N1.897bn. Cost of sales grew slower at 6.97% from N109.361bn in 2017 to N116.984bn. Gross profit therefore improved by 13.53% from N75.88bn to N86.149bn.
Marketing and distribution expenses increased 17.73% from N25.26bn to N29.739bn; administrative expenses fell slightly from N7.534bn to N7.05bn; following which operating profit stood at N49.36bn, as against the previous N43.085bn.
Finance income, being interest income on bank deposits for the period dropped by 85.23% from N6.281bn in 2017, to N1.389bn; while finance cost slipped to N2.661bn, down by 82.12% from N14.887bn; leaving net finance cost at N1.271bn, from N8.606bn.
Profit before tax still managed to rise by 39.4% from N11.499bn in 2017, to N48.088bn; even as the 30.19% growth income tax expenses from N11.499bn, to N14.97bn, left net profit at N33.118bn, 44.12% better than the previous N22.979bn.
Commenting on the performance, an accompanying statement by Nestle Nigeria’s management quoted Mauricio Alarcon, the Managing Director/Chief Executive, as saying the growth resulted from a “disciplined execution and investments in the expansion of our route to market.
The company’s marketing initiatives, he continued, “focused on nutrition awareness, as our consumers continue to trust us to deliver high quality, affordable, nutritious food products every day. All of this is well supported by the dedication and professionalism of our people.
“To sustain our performance, we will continue to focus on creating an environment where our people can grow to their potential while delivering their best performance. Driven by our purpose of enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future, we continue to create value for all stakeholders across our value chain as we source and deliver products adapted to local preferences,” he stressed.