Tag Archives: Guinness

Guinness Nigeria to partner Benue on local content development.

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Managing Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Peter Ndegwa, has expressed his company’s commitment to increase the local sourcing of the raw materials used in its operations and the intension to partner with farmers in Benue State towards realizing the initiative.

Ndegwa made the declaration during a courtesy call on the Executive Governor of Benue State, Dr. Samuel Ortom, at Government House, Makurdi.

He said as Nigeria’s only total alcohol beverage company, Guinness Nigeria is proud of the robust partnerships, which it has forged with governments over the years, and promised to continue to run its business in a responsible manner that creates wealth for all Nigerians.

Ndegwa was accompanied by the Corporate Relations Director, Sesan Sobowale, Internal Communications and Employee Engagement Manager, Toni Anne Uwaifo, OXFAM’s Head of Programme, Mr. Constant Tchona, along with other officials of the company and OXFAM, who were in the state to commission solar-powered water and sanitation facilities in Tyowanye community in Benue state. The facility was donated by Guinness Nigeria Plc in furtherance of the company’s commitment to providing safe and clean water to water-stressed communities in Nigeria.

Governor Ortom commended the company’s giant strides in the manufacturing sector and expressed his pleasure at the social investments of Guinness Nigeria Plc in the state while calling on other corporate bodies and individuals to emulate the brewing giant.

The high point of the visit was the induction of the Managing Director as honourary member of the Tiv nation by Dr. Ortom, who adorned him in Tiv regalia, an honour he said is usually reserved for friends of Benue State.

It would be recalled that in August 2016, Guinness Nigeria and WaterAid Nigeria partnered to construct two solar- powered water facilities in Gwam, Ningi Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

Guinness Nigeria Gets Diageo Loan To Help With Currency Shortages

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Guinness Nigeria said on Wednesday that it had received a $95 million loan from parent Diageo to help it cope with dollar shortages in the West African country caused by a slump in crude prices.

Chief finance officer Ronald Plumridge said the company’s currency needs were much bigger than it was able to source locally and from its exports and so Diageo had stepped in with the loan.

The loan was priced at 3-month Libor plus 4.75 percent, he said.

Nigeria is in recession due to a slump in oil prices, which has hurt its currency and government revenues.

In June, the central bank floated the naira to try to resolve the dollar shortage and to preserve its dwindling foreign reserves. The naira lost a third of its value after the float.

“Longer term we intend to source raw materials locally,” Plumridge told an analysts’ call. “The mix of the business, FX impact and inflation, put pressure on the growth.”

Guinness Nigeria on Tuesday recorded a pretax loss of 2.35 billion naira for 2016, its first loss in 30-years, hit by declining sales, dollar shortages and domestic inflation running at 11-year high of 17.6 percent.

It said it would cut its total dividend to 0.50 naira for 2016 from 3.20 naira a year ago and also cut 310 staff in the last quarter of the year, the CFO said.

Guinness plans to start local production of spirits half way through 2017 and to cut costs to revive profits, the company said.

Guinness Nigeria To Export Beer To South Africa To Increase Sales

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Guinness Nigeria Plc plans to increase exports to improve sales and generate more foreign exchange as the country’s second-largest brewer battles to overcome an economic slump in its home market.

The unit of London-based Diageo Plc will consider selling Guinness stout and the herbal drink Orijin in South Africa to boost the proportion of beverages it sends to international markets, Chief Executive Officer, Peter Ndegwa, said in an interview with Bloomberg.

That will help resolve the brewer’s shortage of foreign currency in Nigeria, which the beverage maker needs to pay for imported goods.

“With all the challenges we have had with foreign currency availability, we realise that export is a great opportunity to gain foreign exchange and stabilise,” Ndegwa said.

“We have heard a lot of inquiries from South Africa. We are currently in the process of seeing how we can export some of those brands to the country.”

Heineken NV is also expanding in South Africa with the recent introduction of Sol Mexican lager, part of a plan to boost its market share in a country dominated by SABMiller Plc. Guinness Nigeria will also seek to export beer to target Africans living on other continents, Ndegwa said.

Generating foreign currency from exports would help Guinness Nigeria offset a scarcity of dollars in its home market caused partly by a slump in oil revenue, the country’s biggest earner.

The economy is on track to shrink 1.8 per cent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund. That would be Nigeria’s first full-year contraction since 1991, according to data from the nation’s statistics agency.

Guinness Nigeria is seeing drinkers switch to cheaper beer brands such as Satzenbrau as disposable incomes decline, and is expanding its range of spirits to increase choice in its more affordable product range.

“We are focused on brands that are lower priced, by either improving distribution or improving awareness,” Ndegwa said. “We have spirit brands across all categories but the growth is mid-to-lower end.”