International Breweries Hits 52-Week High, Value Rises by N368bn
International Breweries Plc breached its key resistance for the first time in a long time following a 4-day monster rally in the equities segment of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) last week.
The brewer stock hit a fresh 52-week high and crossed N1.2 trillion in market value as its share price appreciated by a whopping 40% to close at N7.70, from N5.5 at the beginning of trading sessions.
The uptick was driven by strong rally in the relatively closely held stocks ahead of its first quarter of 2025 earnings release, with foreign corporate ownership of more than 97% in December 2024.
Investors appear to have taken positions in expectation that International Breweries will upturn its successive loss-making streaks. Market activities were strong, with huge units of International Breweries shares traded throughout the holiday-shortened trading sessions.
On Friday, 2.4 million shares of International Breweries Plc worth N18.143 million pushed the company’s market value higher by 10% to N7.7, its all-time record in the local bourse. The Nigerian Exchange now valued International Breweries 169.291 billion shares outstanding at N1.295 trillion, up by N368 billion from about N927.29 billion on Tuesday.
AB InBev Nigeria Holdings BV controls 96.01% of International Breweries Plc as of December 2024, according to the company’s audited financial statement. In total, foreign corporate holdings accounted for 97.42%, and management revealed that the company did not purchase its own share in 2024.
In 2024, International Breweries net loss expanded to N113.614 billion from N70.025 billion in the financial year 2023. This happened even when the company saw 88% year-on-year increase in revenue, settling at N488.955 billion in 2024 from N260.598 billion in 2023.
But costs of sales remained International Breweries pressure points.
The company reported that the cost of sales surged by 105% to N357.605 billion in 2024, from N174.329 billion in 2023. This dwarfed revenue growth and toned down profit margin to an extent that operating income could not cover operating expenses in 2024. International Breweries Hits 52-Week High, Value Rises by N368bn BUA Cement Bolsters Earnings; Profit Rises by 351% in Q1
