By InvestAdvocate

Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-Soap and detergent producer, Unilever Nigeria Plc on Thursday said its profit after tax (PAT) for the period ended December 31, 2015 drooped 50.6 percent to N1.19 billion from N2.41 billion declared a year ago.

In the same vein, pretax profit declined 38.4 percent to N1.77 billion from N2.87 billion posted the same period of 2014.

On the contrary, revenue of Unilever inched up from N55.75 billion in 2014 end to N59.22 billion in the review period of 2015; indicating an increase of 6.2 percent, the soap and detergent maker said in a filing with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

According to Cordros analysts, the company’s performance was strong in the fourth quarter (October to December). The result positively surprised, considering that UNILEVER had a disappointing run over the first nine months of 2015.

Revenue surged by 36.3 percent year-on-year (y/y) and 18.2 percent quarter-on-quarter (q/q) during the period.

Cordros says the top-line growth, a record high, ended consecutive y/y declines in Q3 and Q2. While acknowledging the possible impact of seasonal sales on the growth, we also note the base-effect of a disappointing sales record in Q4-2014 (-15.8 percent y/y and -15.5 percent q/q).

“Considering consumers’ increasing sensitivity to prices, we are attuned to link the revenue growth to be volume driven,” the Cordros report added.

Click here to download Annual Report 2015, Unilever Nigeria Plc