Unilever Nigeria released its unaudited report for the period ended
30th September 2020. The Company recorded Turnover of N17.4 billion in
the period under review. This represents a 21% increase compared to the
previous Quarter 2 2020 and a 94% increase compared to N8.9bn recorded
for the
corresponding period, Q3 2019.
While the result shows the company recorded loss after tax of N1.5bn
for the quarter ended 30th September 2020 representing a 49% improvement
when compared to loss after tax N3.0bn recorded for the quarter ended
30th September 2019
A precursory analysis of the firm’s quarter results indicates that
revenue went up 93.9% to N17.39 billion from N8.97 billion in the same
period in 2019.
The firm experienced significant revenue growth in two market
segments, specifically Food products and Home and Personal Care. A close
look reveals that revenue from Food Products rose to N9.83 billion from
N5. 32 billion last year, while Home and Personal Care revenue climbed
to N7.57 billion from N3.65 billion.
The progress that Unilever Nigeria Plc recorded is better appreciated
when placed side by side with how its key competitor fared.
Consider that Unilever had a 25.1% q/q growth in food revenue
relative to a decline of 16.1% for Nestle Plc. This performance implies
that Unilever increased market share while Nestlé’s shrunk during the
quarter. This may be indicative of the positive effects of the efforts
of the new management.
Some analysts while acknowledging the challenging environment in
which companies operated in this year would like to see the company go
back to an enviable position of profit. It is acknowledged that this
will be a mean feat, with all the foreign exchange and trade
restrictions experienced by many companies within the country.
In 2020, beyond the usual vicissitudes of life, coronavirus (COVID
19) happened. Declared a pandemic by the WHO, it has precipitated
widespread multisectoral disruption, tasked the global health system,
and sparked unprecedented economic upheaval.
As the pandemic raged across the globe, manufacturing hubs shut down,
governments enforced restriction of movement and billions of people
were placed on lockdown. News reports from across the globe indicated
that businesses have gone belly up, countries went bowl in hand seeking
handouts and loans and individuals were content to simply mark
themselves “safe”.
According to the World Bank Nigeria’s economy is projected to
contract by about 4 per cent in 2020. Data from the National Bureau of
Statistics reveals Nigeria’s unemployment rate as at the second quarter
of 2020 stood at 27.1 per cent indicating that about 21,764,614
Nigerians remain unemployed. Inflation figure in September 2020 was
creeping close to 14 per cent. This was the economic reality when
Unilever Nigeria released its unaudited report for the period ended 30th
September 2020.
With the pandemic, the lockdown and the recent social unrest taking
its tow on the economy and many businesses in the country, it is hoped
that Unilever Nigeria will remain focused on its strategy to deliver
sustainable growth remaining true to its past optimism of growing the
business both in the medium and long term, with clear emphasis on
operational efficiency and cost optimization, increasing market share
across key categories and improved route-to-market.
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