International Breweries' Pre-Tax Profit Rises 22% to ₦90.4bn, but a Heavier Tax Bill Cuts Net Profit 6%

International Breweries' nine-month pre-tax profit rose 22% to ₦90.44bn, but profit after tax fell 6% to ₦54.51bn as tax more than doubled.

 International Breweries Plc grew pre-tax profit by 22% in the first nine months of 2026, but a tax charge that more than doubled left profit after tax 6% lower, according to unaudited results approved by its board on Oct. 23.

Profit before tax rose to ₦90.44 billion from ₦74.21 billion a year earlier. Profit after tax fell to ₦54.51 billion from ₦57.83 billion. Revenue was almost flat, up 2.1% to ₦482.61 billion. Earnings per share were 32 kobo, against 34 kobo.

Profit growth came from costs, not sales. Cost of sales fell 8% to ₦286.67 billion, and materials consumed and allocated overheads fell 14.3% to ₦222.83 billion. Gross margin widened to 40.6% from 34.1%, and the pre-tax margin rose to 18.7% from 15.7%.

Spending to sell the beer rose sharply. Administrative, marketing and distribution expenses grew 26.1% to ₦116.16 billion. Advertising, promotion and distribution costs rose 36.7% to ₦75.14 billion, equal to 15.6% of revenue against 11.6% a year earlier. Employee costs rose 18% to ₦22.64 billion, technical management fees rose 22.7% to ₦11.74 billion, and depreciation and amortisation rose 19% to ₦58.37 billion.

In the third quarter, advertising, promotion and distribution costs jumped 65% to ₦32.58 billion. That absorbed nearly all of the quarter's gross-profit gain: operating profit was flat at ₦10.98 billion, and the operating margin slipped to 7.8% from 8.3%. A third-quarter pre-tax profit of ₦15.65 billion, up 23%, came from net finance income of ₦4.66 billion, which rose from ₦1.73 billion.

Income tax expense rose 119% to ₦35.93 billion from ₦16.39 billion, an effective rate of 39.7% against 22.1%. The statements carry no tax note. The balance sheet shows deferred tax assets falling to ₦11.05 billion from ₦33.40 billion, a ₦22.36 billion drop that equals about 62% of the nine-month charge. Cash tax paid was ₦6.67 billion. The company does not explain the movement, but the gap suggests a large part of the charge did not involve cash.

Foreign-exchange items turned positive. Realised losses narrowed to ₦8.63 billion from ₦13.51 billion, and unrealised gains rose to ₦9.51 billion from ₦8.72 billion. The net result was a gain of about ₦0.87 billion against a loss of ₦4.79 billion a year earlier, by our calculation.

Finance income rose 47% to ₦19.63 billion. Finance costs rose 64% to ₦10.05 billion, almost all of it interest on lease liabilities, up 82% to ₦9.80 billion. The company reported no bank loans or overdrafts outstanding.

Cash generated from operations more than tripled to ₦121.10 billion, and net operating cash flow was ₦114.43 billion, against ₦34.10 billion. Capital spending of ₦85.13 billion was roughly flat, and the company has ₦20.3 billion of further capital commitments.

Cash and equivalents fell 33% to ₦103.74 billion from ₦155.45 billion at the end of 2025, mainly because of an ₦84 billion return of capital to shareholders in September. Total assets fell 6.4% to ₦692.03 billion and equity fell 5.9% to ₦470.33 billion.

On Sept. 23, International Breweries completed a court-sanctioned capital reorganisation approved by shareholders at its July 30 annual general meeting. It used share premium to eliminate accumulated losses of ₦191.03 billion, which had barred the company from paying dividends. It then returned ₦84 billion from the share premium account, or 50 kobo per share, to shareholders on the register as of Sept. 16. The number of shares in issue did not change, at 168.29 billion.

Retained earnings now stand at a positive ₦54.51 billion, against a deficit of ₦191.03 billion at the start of the year. The statements do not announce a dividend.

AB InBev Nigeria Holdings BV owns 96.01% of the company, and the free float is 2.55%. On those holdings, about ₦80.6 billion of the ₦84 billion payout went to AB InBev's Nigerian holding company, by our calculation.

The filing contains no management commentary or guidance. Investors will look at whether tax stays elevated, whether selling costs keep outpacing sales, and whether the restored distributable reserves lead to a dividend.

The statements were signed by Chairman Nnaemeka Achebe, Managing Director Nicholas Kade and Finance Director Chinyere Ezeugwu.

They are unaudited and prepared under IFRS. International Breweries brews and markets beer, flavoured alcoholic drinks and soft drinks, and its ultimate parent is Anheuser-Busch InBev.

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