April 29, 2025/CSL Research

In its Q1 2025 earnings release, Cadbury Nigeria Plc. (Cadbury) reported a 57.1% year-on-year (y/y) Revenue growth to ₦37.23 billion from ₦23.70 billion in Q1 2024. This strong topline performance was driven by higher domestic sales, particularly in its refreshment beverages segment—featuring products like Bournvita and 3-in-1 Hot Chocolate—as well as growth in confectionery sales.

The company’s Cost of Sales rose by 34.1% y/y to ₦25.07 billion, compared to ₦18.70 billion in Q1 2024. However, this increase lagged Revenue growth, resulting in a significant improvement in Cadbury’s cost efficiency. The cost-to-sales ratio dropped to 67.4%, down from 78.9% in the prior year. As a result, Gross Profit surged by 143.5% y/y to ₦12.15 billion, compared to ₦4.99 billion in Q1 2024, while the Gross Profit Margin improved by 11.6 percentage points to 32.6%.

Total Operating Expenses for Cadbury notched up by 28.7% y/y in Q1 2025 to settle at ₦2.86 billion, compared to ₦2.22 billion in Q1 2024, mainly driven by a 52.4% y/y increase in Selling and Distribution Expenses, which hit ₦2.26 billion from ₦1.48 billion in the previous year. Nonetheless, Cadbury’s OPEX ratio dropped by 1.7 percentage points to 7.7% in Q1 2025, down from 9.4% in Q1 2024.

Cadbury’s Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) rose sharply by 213.8% to ₦10.18 billion, from ₦3.24 billion in Q1 2024. This resulted in a notable 13.7 percentage point improvement in the EBITDA margin, which climbed to 27.3%. Likewise, Operating Profit (EBIT) grew by 251.0% y/y to ₦9.69 billion, up from ₦2.76 billion in Q1 2024, pushing the EBIT margin up by 14.4 percentage points to 26.0%.