International Breweries Plc has turned the corner, posting a remarkable profit before tax of N85.1 billion in 2025, a stark contrast to the N111.8 billion loss recorded in 2024. This impressive turnaround is a testament to the company’s resilience and strategic efforts to navigate the challenging brewing industry landscape.
The company’s revenue grew strongly by 26.83% to N620.1 billion, driven by effective pricing strategies, route-to-market optimization, product innovation, and brand repositioning initiatives. Gross profit also surged by 55.65% to N204.4 billion, reflecting improved cost management and reduced exposure to FX-sensitive inputs.
Despite higher operating costs, International Breweries maintained a tight grip on expenses, with administrative, marketing, and distribution costs rising to N128.1 billion from N108.4 billion. The company’s prudent approach to cost management helped drive operating profit to N73.7 billion, a significant improvement from the N91.07 billion loss in 2024.
The company’s financial performance was further bolstered by a substantial reduction in finance costs, which fell to N6.7 billion from N34.7 billion. This, combined with increased finance income, resulted in a net finance income of N11.36 billion.
International Breweries’ return to profitability is a notable achievement, especially given the industry-wide challenges posed by infrastructural obstacles and rising costs. The company’s focus on innovation, brand building, and operational efficiency positions it well for sustained growth .
International Breweries’ cash management has also shown improvement, with a shorter cash cycle of 102 days, down from 121 days. The company’s days receivable edged up to 26 days from 22, implying a slightly longer wait for payments from debtors. However, this was offset by a deliberate strategy to stretch payment terms to 55 days from 36, providing a welcome cash cushion.
Inventory management also showed improvement, with stockholding periods decreasing to 131 days from 135, indicating efficient supply chain operations. Despite these gains, the company’s current ratio dipped, largely due to increased reliance on bank overdrafts, which totaled N3.7 billion compared to none in the previous year.
Encouragingly, overall financial leverage has decreased, driven by the elimination of term loans, making the company more attractive to investors. The company is poised for growth, with a significant investment commitment of N9.62 billion, a substantial increase from N1.2 billion in the prior year, earmarked for upgrading its Ogba and Benin breweries ¹.
