October 29, 2019/Cadbury Nigeria Plc
Cadbury Nigeria Plc (“Cadbury Nigeria” or “the Company”) today announced revenue of N28.912billion for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. This represents an increase of 7.2 percent over the N26.959billion revenue realised within the same period in 2018.
A statement from Cadbury Nigeria, which made this known, also said the Company recorded gross profit of N5.857billion, representing an increase of 10.4 percent over the N5.306billion that was reported for the same period in 2018.
Cadbury Nigeria’s profit for the period stood at N648million, which translates to 276.8 percent growth, when compared to N173million realised in the same period of last year. The statement said the result reflects a sustained positive trend in its performance, while adding that profit before tax within the review period, grew by 267.4 percent to N926million, from N253million in 2018
The statement added that despite the current land border closure which had been in place since August this year, the Company has managed to remain profitable. The statement attributed its resilience to prudent management of resources, aggressive route-to-market strategy, and sustained marketing and trade activations within the period under review.
The Federal Government of Nigeria had closed all land borders with neighbouring countries to curtail smuggling, which it said was crippling the economy, and for security reasons. Trucks conveying Cadbury Nigeria’s Hot Chocolate drink from its sister company in Ghana, have been stuck at various borders along the ECOWAS trade corridor since the closure started.
Various stakeholders notably the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) have called on the Government to re-open the borders as the closure was having an adverse impact on its members that are engaged in the import and export business. But the Government has insisted that it would not reopen the borders until it receives a firm commitment from Nigeria’s neighbours that they would adhere to ECOWAS trade protocols.
A top government delegation from Ghana had visited Abuja recently to seek a special concession for genuine Ghanaian companies like Cadbury Ghana Limited that import products to Nigeria. Although the Nigerian Government had reportedly acceded to the demand in principle, implementation has yet to begin.
