Amid an impressive top-to-bottom line audited scorecards for the full year ended December 31, 2018, the directors of Cadbury Nigeria plc declared a total dividend of N471.4 million in 2018 (2017: N301.5 million), which implies 25 kobo per share (2017: 16 kobo per share).
Cadbury Nigeria plc’s profit before tax (PBT) surged significantly by 249 percent to N1.22 billion, from N350 million recorded in 2017.
The beverage maker’s profit after tax (PAT) increased by 174 percent year on year in 2018 as shown in its full-year financial report released on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday.
Profit for the year ended 2018 stood at N823.08 million against N299.99 million recorded in the previous year.
This was largely driven by a 9 percent growth in revenue for the period under review to N35.97 billion, from N33.07 billion in 2017.
The report at the NSE shows Cadbury revenue growth was driven by a significant growth in export sales revenue by 33.68 percent to N4.93 billion, from N3.69 billion, although larger chunk of revenue was realised from domestic sales.
Domestic sales for the period grew marginally by 5.6 percent to settle at N31.03 billion, from N29.38 billion in 2017.
Cadbury Nigeria plc shareholding structure shows it is owned 74.97 percent by Cadbury Schweppes Overseas Limited (CSOL), and 25.03 percent by a highly diversified spread of individuals and institutional shareholders.
Recorded growth in revenue in 2018 was a slowdown by 1 percent compared to 10 percent growth recorded in 2017 from 2016. In the last five years, Cadbury had grown its revenue at an average annual rate of 3 percent.
Against trend witnessed so far on the stock market with little or no positive reaction of investors to some companies’ stocks with impressive results, Cadbury plc stock as at close of trading by 2:30pm on Thursday recorded a 9.09 percent appreciation in share value to N11, well above its 52-week low of N9. The stock had reached a 52-week high of N15.25.
Since 2015, Cadbury had struggled to record a PAT of N1 billion as earnings entered the million zone after the company recorded a loss after tax of N296.4 million in 2016.
The company’s basic and diluted earnings per share (BPS) increased to 44 kobo in 2018 financial year as against 16 kobo in 2017.
Our analysis shows that in the last five years, Cadbury plc has recorded an average annual growth rate of -17 percent; hence performance in the last five years has not been impressive.
Iheanyi Nwachukwu & David Ibidapo
