Cadbury Nigeria Plc has delivered a major comeback in the second quarter of 2025, reporting a pre-tax profit of N5.9 billion, compared to a N3.4 billion loss in the same period last year.
This performance helped push the company’s half-year earnings to N14.5 billion, a sharp rebound from the N13.8 billion loss recorded in the first half of 2024.
The turnaround was driven by robust growth in sales and a significant reduction in finance costs. For Q2 2025 alone, revenue surged 44.25% to N40 billion from N27.7 billion a year earlier. This lifted total revenue for the first half to N77.2 billion, reflecting a 50.17% year-on-year increase. Domestic sales accounted for the bulk of this figure—N74 billion, or 95.8%—while exports contributed N3.2 billion.
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Although the company’s cost of sales climbed by 30.96% to N30.3 billion in Q2, gross profit more than doubled to N9.7 billion from N4.5 billion in the same quarter last year. Operating profit also jumped to N6.5 billion from N1.9 billion in Q2 2024, despite a 38.53% rise in selling and distribution expenses, which hit N2.6 billion.
A critical factor supporting the company’s improved bottom line was a sharp drop in net finance costs. Interest on borrowings dropped drastically to N593.7 million, down from N5.3 billion in Q2 2024, helping to stabilize earnings.
Cadbury’s total assets rose 20.90% to N87.5 billion, and its retained losses improved to N27.1 billion as of June 2025, down from N37.2 billion at the end of December 2024. The company’s share price on the Nigerian Exchange stood at N70.95 as of July 29, 2025, reflecting a remarkable year-to-date gain of 230%.
This impressive showing signals a strong recovery from a turbulent recent past. In its full-year 2023 financial results, Cadbury reported a pre-tax loss of N27.63 billion, marking a dramatic 2,228% plunge from the N1.30 billion profit posted in 2022. This dismal outcome came despite a 46% increase in revenue to N80.38 billion, driven mainly by the performance of its refreshment beverages category, particularly Bournvita and 3-in-1 Hot Chocolate.
The loss in 2023 was largely the result of mounting economic headwinds, including the impact of the Naira devaluation in mid-2023. This monetary shift inflicted a heavy blow on Cadbury’s financials, as the company booked a massive N36.93 billion charge due to exchange rate differences. Additionally, finance costs rose significantly, with interest on borrowings spiking by 170% to N1.36 billion.
The 2023 performance highlighted the challenges multinational firms face in navigating Nigeria’s volatile macroeconomic landscape, especially those heavily reliant on imported raw materials or foreign-denominated obligations.
In response to the negative equity of N15.08 billion recorded in 2023, reflecting a 213% decrease from the previous year, Cadbury Nigeria proposed a strategic move to address its financial structure. The company converted its outstanding $7.7 million loan payable to its major shareholder, Cadbury Schweppes Overseas Limited, into equity.
Cadbury’s latest numbers, therefore, not only reflect a recovery in consumer demand and operational efficiency but also a stabilization in the macroeconomic factors that battered its earnings last year. If the current trend holds, the company may fully shake off the drag of past currency shocks and return to consistent profitability.