Guinness Nigeria Rules Out Delisting From NGX

…Says Focus Is on Growth

Guinness Nigeria Plc has ruled out plans to delist from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), saying the company will remain publicly listed as it focuses on strengthening its balance sheet, investing in capacity and delivering returns to shareholders.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Guinness Nigeria, Girish Sharma, disclosed this at the company’s investors and analysts meeting, where he also highlighted the brewer’s improved financial position, stronger profitability and continued investment in its operations.

Sharma said the company had no plans to take Guinness Nigeria private or alter its status as a publicly listed company, maintaining that the position remained consistent with the response he had given to similar questions in previous investor engagements.

“At this point in time, there are no plans to take the company private or re-list it. We will continue to remain a publicly listed company for now,” he said.

The clarification comes as Guinness Nigeria continues to strengthen its balance sheet following significant financial pressures in previous periods.

According to Sharma, the company’s first-half performance demonstrated that the period of a relatively weak balance sheet was behind the business, with management now focused on simultaneously driving growth, improving efficiency and delivering value to shareholders.

He said the company had grown net sales value by almost 12 per cent in the first half of the year, while operating profit increased by 15 per cent and profit after tax rose by more than 50 per cent compared with the corresponding period.

“It has therefore been a strong first half,” Sharma said, adding that the company had continued to invest significantly in capital expenditure despite the improved returns to shareholders.

He disclosed that Guinness Nigeria had declared dividends for the second consecutive time and returned close to N20 billion to shareholders.

Sharma said the strategy was to strike a balance between investing in the future growth of the business and ensuring that shareholders continued to receive attractive returns.

The company’s Finance and Strategy Director, Maya, said the improved financial performance was accompanied by a significant strengthening of the balance sheet.

He said Guinness Nigeria’s revenue reached N265 billion in the first half of the year, with the second quarter recording 20 per cent year-on-year growth in the top line.

Profit after tax stood at N25.3 billion, representing a 53 per cent increase compared with the corresponding period.

He said gross profit margin and operating profit margin stood at about 37 per cent and 16 per cent respectively, with the margins remaining broadly stable across the first and second quarters.

Sharma also disclosed that the company’s equity position had been substantially repaired, rising from N43.3 billion at the previous financial year-end to N64.2 billion.

The improvement, she said, was largely driven by the turnaround in retained earnings.

At the same time, Guinness Nigeria’s net debt declined from N37 billion to below N19 billion, representing a reduction of almost 50 per cent.

Despite the deleveraging, the company continued to invest in its operations, spending just under N20 billion on capital expenditure in the first half of the year.

The investments were focused largely on volume-related initiatives and manufacturing upgrades.

Sharma said Guinness Nigeria’s manufacturing investments were primarily aimed at improving efficiency, although some of the efficiency improvements had also generated positive effects on production capacity.

He noted that the company had inherited relatively aged manufacturing infrastructure, making efficiency improvement a major priority for its capital expenditure programme.

The CEO also said the company was experiencing strong volume momentum despite the seasonal nature of the beverage business.

He noted that October, November and December were traditionally stronger months for the business because of increased social activities and the return of Nigerians to the country during the festive period.

However, he said Guinness Nigeria had continued to grow even outside that traditionally strong period.

“If I compare the first half of 2026 with the first half of 2025, we have grown volumes by more than 21 per cent,” Sharma said.

He attributed the performance to a combination of improved operational efficiency and positive volume momentum.

On the broader beverage market, Sharma said Guinness Nigeria was adapting to changing consumer preferences, including the global trend towards reduced alcohol consumption.

He, however, noted that the shift was creating opportunities in the ready-to-drink (RTD) category and non-alcoholic beverages.

“While beer consumption may be declining in some markets, there is considerable growth potential in RTDs,” he said.

According to him, Guinness Nigeria’s position as a total beverage alcohol business gives it the flexibility to respond to changes in consumer behaviour because its portfolio covers both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

He said the company’s innovation strategy would therefore focus on developing products across both categories, with particular attention to the growing non-alcoholic segment.

Sharma said the company was also focused on understanding where consumers were spending their time, the occasions associated with consumption and the channels through which products were purchased.

He stressed that availability, innovation and consumer occasions would remain central to the company’s strategy.

On the possibility of acquisitions, Sharma said Guinness Nigeria was not actively pursuing major deals, arguing that the company already had sufficient opportunities within its existing operations.

“I honestly feel that we have enough on our plate,” he said, pointing to the company’s two large manufacturing plants and logistics centres.

He said management would remain open to opportunities where appropriate but was currently focused on maximising the potential of its existing assets.

The company’s management also noted that Nigeria’s improving foreign exchange position and the recent strengthening of the naira could provide some relief for the business.

Sharma said Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves stood at about $51.5 billion at the end of June and were approaching $52 billion by the end of July.

He said the naira had strengthened by about 10 per cent to around N1,379 per dollar, compared with levels above N1,500 per dollar a year earlier.