Guinness Nigeria’s Profit Tumbles During Economic Downturn

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa — Guinness Nigeria Plc, the country’s second-biggest brewer, said profit fell 83 percent in the nine months through to the end of March during a downturn in Africa’s largest economy.

Earnings after tax were 864 million naira ($4.35 million) in the period, compared with 5.2 billion naira a year earlier, the local unit of Diageo Plc said in a statement on the Nigerian Stock Exchange’s website. Revenue dropped 18 percent to 69.6 billion naira.

While the company didn’t comment on its results, Nigeria has been hammered by oil prices falling 60 percent since mid-2014 to about $45 a barrel. The economy grew 2.8 percent last year, the slowest pace since 1999. The International Monetary Fund said last month it will probably drop further to 2.3 percent this year.

Guinness Nigeria’s shares fell 1.8 percent to 98 naira by 1:04 p.m. in Lagos, the commercial capital. The stock is down 42 percent since the start of 2015, compared with 28 percent for the Nigerian All Share Index. Nigerian Breweries Plc, the biggest beer maker and controlled by Heineken NV, has fallen 36 percent in that period.