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Nigerian Breweries, the country’s largest beer company, has reported that its after-tax profit fell by 25 per cent in 2016. The company released its 2016 audited financial statement on Monday, showing that after-tax profit fell to N28.4 billion from N38.1 billion reported in 2015.

The decline in Nigerian Breweries after-profit resulted mainly from the devaluation of the naira, leading to a record 904 per cent rise in net losses on foreign exchange transactions. The company posted N7.6 billion in FX losses last year, compared to N752 million in the previous year.

Nigerian Breweries profit missed analysts’ estimates of N24.9 billion, according to Cardinal Stone Partners, a Lagos-based investment advisory firm.

Notwithstanding the slump in profit, Nigerian Breweries said revenue rose by 6.7 per cent to N313.7 billion from N293.9 billion recorded a year earlier owing to strong sales from its Nigerian market – which accounts for 99 per cent of the company’s sales. Export sales fell 31 per cent to N160.7 million compared to N234.1 million posted in 2015.

Nigerian Breweries said its total expenses rose by 13 per cent to N261.5 billion driven mainly by the increased costs of raw materials and consumables, which rose by 27 per cent to N113.6 billion.

For the period under review, the company said earnings per share fell 26 per cent to N3.58 per share from N4.82 per share reported in the previous year. The company declared a final dividend of N2.58 per share, taking the total dividend to N3.58 per share.

As at 1.56 p.m. on Tuesday, Nigerian Breweries stock traded at N119.81 per share, up 4.18 per cent from the previous day’s close.