Unilever PAT improves in Q4 2015

The 2015 full year results of Unilever Nigeria Plc shows that the company’s turnover and Profit after Tax (PAT) stood at N59.2 billion and N1.19billion respectively at the close of the financial year. The company recorded growth in PAT from N141million in Q3 2015, to N1.19billion in Q4 2015.

The result shows 6.2% growth in turnover from N55.7 billion for the year ended December 2014 to N59.2 billion for the year ended December 2015. Q4 results for the company show extraordinary recovery across major indices. Stand-alone results for Q4 reflect turnover growth of 36.3% in Q4 2015 (Q4 2014: N12.12 billion, Q4 2015:N16.52 billion)

Profit after tax for the full year dipped by 51% from N2.4 billion in 2014 to N1.19 billion in 2015. However, Q4 2015 standalone results show an increase of 78.3% in PAT (Q4 2014: N590 million, Q4 2015:N1.05 billion)

Cost of sales increased by 7.2% to N38 billion for the year ended December 2015 from N36 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2014.

Net finance cost increased by 64.7%% from N1.74 billion for the year ended December 2014 to N2.87 billion for the year ended December 2015. Q4 results however show that net finance cost as a function of operating profit improved significantly to 31% (Q4 2014: 66%)

Trading conditions remained difficult through the year. However, Unilever Nigeria continued to demonstrate resilience in tackling the growing drop in consumer’s purchasing pattern amidst other extraneous factors.

In a statement released by the company, Unilever Nigeria assured shareholders of continued efforts to ensure a sustained and steady growth in the company’s operations to achieve better returns on their investments.

“Although the operating environment remains challenging, we have continued to see momentum behind process improvements, costs and operational efficiencies.  We will continue to focus on driving cost efficiencies, increasing market share across key categories and reinvesting behind our core brands” the statement said.

The statement concludes that the company’s “management is addressing the issue of significant finance cost through a number of initiatives. We are beginning to see traction on this particularly from Q4 2015.”

Obodo Ejiro