Nigerian Breweries Plc has indicated plans for a company-wide reorganisation which include the temporary suspension of operations in two of its nine breweries.
In a statement obtained by TheWitness, the company emphasized its commitment to minimizing the impact on its workforce by exploring all feasible alternatives.
These measures include relocating and redistributing employees to the remaining seven breweries and offering support and severance packages to those that become unavoidably affected.
According to the company, following the recent announcement of its Business Recovery Plan, Nigerian Breweries Plc has indicated plans for a company-wide reorganisation aimed at securing a resilient and sustainable future for its stakeholders.
The statement signed by Sade Morgan, Corporate Affairs Director, noted that this move is essential to improve the company’s operational efficiency, financial stability and enable a return of the business to profitability, in the face of the persistently challenging business environment.
The company recalled that recently it notified the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) of its plan to raise capital of up to ₦600 billion (Six Hundred billion naira) by way of a rights issue, as a means of restoring the company’s balance sheet to a healthy position following the net finance expenses of N189 billion recorded in 2023 driven mainly by a foreign exchange loss of N153 billion resulting from the devaluation of the naira.
Speaking on these developments, Managing Director/CEO Nigerian Breweries Plc, Hans Essaadi, described the business recovery plan as strategic and vital for business continuity:
The company also recalled that it recently added to its broad portfolio with the acquisition of an 80% business stake in Distell Wines and Spirits Limited, a local business in the wines and spirits category, as a demonstration of its resilient and forward-thinking strategy to deliver long-term value creation for its shareholders and other stakeholders.
The Nigerian Breweries’ Business Recovery Plan includes a rights issue and a company-wide reorganisation exercise which includes temporary suspension of two of its nine breweries and an optimisation of production capacity in the other seven breweries, some of which have received significant capital investment in recent years.
