Orijin, newly-introduced liquor being produced by Guinness Nigeria, a subsidiary of Diageo plc, has influenced growth in operating profits of Guinness Nigeria to 47 percent and also increased its net sales for this quarter on year on year basis to 17 percent compared with the same period last year on the back of effective adverts and wide market penetrations.
John O’Keeffe, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Guinness Nigeria Plc said: “We recorded a strong performance in the quarter driven by the continued success of Orijin and our participation in the value segment of the market through Satzenbrau along with the improving performance of Guinness stout. As a result, we are reporting a double digit net sales growth in the period.”
The statement revealed that high finance costs in a high interest rate environment negatively impacted overall profitability of the company, adding: “We will continue to invest in our brands and enhancing our route to consumer. We expect the ongoing currency devaluation to lead to increasing cost pressure and softening consumer demand. In addition, the one-off tax credits in the prior year will not recur.”
The company recently announced a change in the leadership of the company with the exit of the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, John O’Keeffe, who was promoted to take the role as President, Diageo Africa. His successor, Soren Lauridsen will resume in role in May 2015 to commence a handover process with O’Keeffe.
Babatunde Savage, Chairman, Guinness Nigeria Plc, said: “We have had an encouraging year so far and we believe that we are in a position to finish the year well in spite of the challenges of the operating environment. Recent changes in our management with the arrival of Soren will only further strengthen the pool of seasoned experience we have to help us implement our strategy to win in the market place.”
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
