BUA Foods’ nine-month profit jumps 17% per cent as revenue hits N290 billion

BUA Foods Plc reported sales in the sum of N289.8 billion for the nine months to September, equivalent to more than a fifth growth over what it posted a year earlier, the earnings report of Nigeria’s biggest consumer goods company by market value showed.

The firm, whose five business operations span sugar, pasta, flour, edible oils and rice, saw 62.4 per cent or N180.9 billion of its revenue contributed by its sugar division, “driven by price adjustments and export sales within the period.” Other income climbed by 14.2 per cent to N1.3 billion.

In January, BUA Foods debuted on the Nigerian Exchange in January, listing 18 billion shares now cumulatively valued in excess of N1 trillion, 27 per cent higher than its initial valuation.

Selling and distribution costs surged by one-third to N10.4 billion even though the firm cut its administrative expenses by 18.3 per cent.

Pre-tax profit stood at N74.3 billion, 16.8 per cent bigger than a year ago, while net profit expanded 17.2 per cent to N68.8 billion.

“We continue to navigate the high input cost environment to deliver double-digit growth within the period,” Ayodele Abioye, the chief executive, said in a separate document.

“We are making progress with the recommencement of the rice business before year end 2022 to further diversify our revenue base. In addition, we are making progress with the backward integration plans for the sugar business and our capacity expansion plans for the flour, rice, and pasta divisions.”

Net profit margin, which depicts how much of revenue has turned to profit, was 23.7 per cent. That compares with the 24.3 per cent posted for the same period of last year.

Abdul Samad Rabiu, Nigeria’s second and Africa’s fifth richest person by Forbes ranking, holds an 89.9 per cent stake in BUA Foods.

Total assets for the review period grew 6.2 per cent to N630.4 billion.

In May, BUA Foods took delivery of the first of two shipping vessels to scale up its sugar export operations to the West African market.