Unilever Nigeria Plc released its results for the year ended 31st December 2015 where it recorded a considerable leap in Profit After Tax (PAT) from its third quarter (Q3) 2015 position of N141million to close the year with PAT of N1.19billion.
The company also recorded turnover of N59.2 billion for the year ended December 2015, which is a 6.2 per cent growth in turnover from N55.7 billion for the year ended December 2014 to N59.2 billion for December 2015.
Fourth quarter (Q4) results for the company show extraordinary recovery across major indices. Stand-alone results for Q4 reflect turnover growth of 36.3 per cent in Q4 2015 (Q4 2014: N12.12 billion, Q4 2015:N16.52 billion)
Profit after tax for the full year dipped by 51 per cent from N2.4 billion in 2014 to N1.19 billion in 2015. However, Q4 2015 standalone results show an increase of 78.3 per cent in PAT (Q4 2014: N590 million, Q4 2015:N1.05 billion)
Cost of sales increased by 7.2 per cent to N38 billion for the year ended December 2015 from N36 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2014.
Net finance cost increased by 64.7 per cent from N1.74 billion for the year ended December 2014 to N2.87 billion for the year ended December 2015. Q4 results however show that net finance cost as a function of operating profit improved significantly to 31 per cent (Q4 2014: 66 per cent)
In a statement released by the company, Unilever Nigeria assured shareholders of continued efforts to ensure a sustained and steady growth in the company’s operations to achieve better returns on their investments.
It said although trading conditions remained difficult through the year, Unilever Nigeria continued to demonstrate resilience in tackling the growing drop in consumer’s purchasing pattern amidst other extraneous factors.
“Although the operating environment remains challenging, we have continued to see momentum behind process improvements, costs and operational efficiencies. We will continue to focus on driving cost efficiencies, increasing market share across key categories and reinvesting behind our core brands”.
Management is equally addressing the issue of significant finance cost through a number of initiatives, it added.
