Nigerian Breweries Plc has fully wiped out its accumulated losses, with Group retained earnings turning positive at ₦34.79 billion as of September 30, 2026, from an accumulated deficit of ₦72.17 billion at the end of December 2025.
An analysis of the brewer’s unaudited financial statements for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, shows that the turnaround was supported by sustained profitability, lower finance costs and improved cash generation.
The parent company’s retained earnings also returned to positive territory at ₦37.01 billion, from an accumulated deficit of ₦77.09 billion.
This is a significant development because dividend-paying capacity depends particularly on the distributable profits of the legal entity declaring the dividend.
However, Nigerian Breweries has not announced a new dividend, and any future distribution will depend on sustained profitability, sufficient distributable reserves and the necessary corporate approvals.
The brewer began 2026 with Group accumulated losses of ₦72.17 billion, after a difficult period marked by elevated finance costs and pressure on profitability.
By June, it had reversed the position, recording positive Group retained earnings of ₦13.65 billion, supported by a first-half profit after tax of ₦92.95 billion.
The recovery continued in the third quarter, with an additional ₦21.14 billion in profit after tax lifting nine-month earnings to ₦114.10 billion.
Group retained earnings rose to ₦34.79 billion at the end of September, an improvement of ₦106.96 billion from the start of the year.
Parent-company retained earnings moved from a ₦77.09 billion accumulated deficit at the end of 2025 to a positive ₦37.01 billion.
Revenue increased by 5.4 per cent to ₦1.10 trillion, while gross profit rose by 15.1 per cent to ₦477.90 billion as cost of sales declined marginally to ₦624.76 billion.
Profit before tax grew by 32.6 per cent to ₦171.68 billion, while profit after tax rose by 33.4 per cent to ₦114.10 billion.
The recovery was also helped by lower financing expenses, with finance costs falling by 61.3 per cent to ₦11.20 billion from ₦28.90 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.
The improvement in profitability was enough to absorb the earlier accumulated losses and rebuild positive retained earnings at both Group and parent-company levels.
The return to positive retained earnings comes after three consecutive financial years without dividend payments to shareholders.
Nigerian Breweries last declared dividends for the 2022 financial year, when shareholders received a total of ₦1.43 per share, made up of an interim dividend of 40 kobo and a final dividend of ₦1.03 per share.
The total payout amounted to approximately ₦13.87 billion, with the final dividend approved by shareholders in April 2023.
The company made no dividend payments for the 2023, 2024 and 2025 financial years, following the deterioration in its financial performance and the build-up of accumulated losses.
Although profitability improved in 2025, Group retained earnings remained negative at ₦72.17 billion at year-end, while the parent company had an accumulated deficit of ₦77.09 billion.
According to its statement of changes in equity, Nigerian Breweries did not declare a new dividend during the nine months ended September 2026.
The ₦340.56 million paid in dividends during the period related to existing dividend obligations rather than a newly declared distribution, while dividend payable declined to ₦2.44 billion from ₦2.79 billion.
The elimination of accumulated deficits therefore strengthens the company’s potential capacity to resume distributions, although any dividend will still depend on sustained profitability, sufficient distributable reserves and the necessary corporate approvals.
Debt repayment and stronger cash flow support dividend prospects
The improvement in retained earnings has coincided with a significant strengthening of the brewer’s balance sheet, particularly through the elimination of outstanding interest-bearing borrowings.
Loans and borrowings declined from ₦59.71 billion at the end of December 2025 to zero as of September 2026.
The improvement was also reflected in stronger cash generation and higher shareholders’ funds.
Net cash from operating activities rose by 145.2 per cent to ₦150.03 billion from ₦61.18 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.
Cash and cash equivalents increased by 26.4 per cent to ₦77.28 billion.
Shareholders’ funds rose to ₦667.22 billion from ₦560.22 billion.
Nigerian Breweries spent ₦61.02 billion on property, plant and equipment during the period, while outstanding capital expenditure commitments stood at ₦74.7 billion.
Selling and distribution expenses increased by 24.3 per cent to ₦240.94 billion, indicating that operating and investment requirements could still influence the cash available for future distributions.
For shareholders who have gone three years without dividends, the recovery raises hopes that Nigerian Breweries could return to paying dividends for the 2026 financial year.
