After two loss-making years, Nestle Nigeria returns to annual profit

Nestle Nigeria had a relatively steady dollar-to-naira exchange rate to thank as it bounced back to annual profit in 2025, when it netted N105 billion in big relief from a post-tax loss of N164.6 billion a year prior.

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The exchange rate stability made it easy for the local unit of the world’s biggest food company to pull the plug on two successive years of loss-making, which caused shareholder funds to turn red in 2023 and worsened the case in 2024.

Foreign currency translation loss, which stood at N290.7 billion in 2024, declined to zero in the year under review, according to the company’s audited accounts out on Wednesday.

That feat helped the manufacturer of Milo, Maggi, Golden Morn, and Nescafé cut net finance costs by as much as 85 per cent.

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Opening the year at 1,500 to a dollar and closing at 1,429, the naira exchanged at a much more predictable rate in 2025, compared to the two years before it, when two steep devaluations set up the local currency for a depreciation of roughly 70 per cent, giving import-dependent businesses needed comfort.

Nestle Nigeria, which for years relied heavily on imported raw materials for manufacturing, has had to turn to local sourcing of sorghum, cassava, soya beans and spices as substitutes to navigate the exchange rate storm.

Its return to buoyancy was driven in part by a 26 per cent jump in revenue to N1.2 trillion amid improvement in domestic sales. Exports to Ghana, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and South Africa were up by 55.9 per cent, contributing N10.2 billion to turnover.

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“This improved performance has positively impacted on our equity position. With the results achieved in 2025, negative retained earnings from the previous period reduced by 53.6% from ₦ 243.2 billion in 2024 to ₦ 112.8 billion in 2025,” CEO Wassim Elhussein said in a statement.

“In the year ahead, we will keep driving cost efficiencies to support our growth in what we expect will be a more stable economic environment,” he added.

Profit before tax stood at N166.8 billion, compared to a pre-tax loss of N221.6 billion a year ago.

Total assets fell 1.5 per cent to N846.2 billion amid a decline in prepayments and property, plant and equipment.