The series 7 and 8 commercial papers (CPs) launched Nigerian Breweries Plc. to raise about N48 billion to support short term funding commences today, April 6.
The country’s leading brewer had in a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday, said the offer will officially open on April 6, 2020.
NB said the series 7 would be for a tenor of 182 days, while series 8 would be for 270 days.
“The CP programme aims to raise up to a maximum of N48 billion to support the company’s short term funding needs. The CP programme continues to provide the opportunity for non-equity investors to invest in the company, support the company’s cost management initiatives and serve as an additional source of funding for the company,” it said.
The brewer recommended a final dividend of N1.51 for shareholders for the full year ended December 31, 2019.
Beset by increasing competition among other challenges, NB posted a revenue of N323 billion for year 2019, a marginal decline from N324.4 billion posted in 2018.
It’s cost of sales dropped, however, from N197.5 billion to N191.8 billion, while operating expenses rose from N90.8 billion to N97.1 billion in 2019.
Net financing cost grew by 57.4 per cent from N7.5 billion to N11.9 billion. Profit before tax fell by 20.6 per cent to N23.4 billion, compared with N29.4 billion in 2018. A reduction in tax rate made the profit after tax to decline slower by 17.1 per cent from N19.4 billion to N16.4 billion.