Nigeria’s trillion-naira revenue club expanded further in 2025 as BUA Cement, Lafarge Africa, and Nestle Nigeria Plc crossed the N1 trillion mark, joining a growing league of corporate giants benefiting from improved macroeconomic stability, easing inflationary pressures, and price adjustments.

According to the audited financial statement from leading listed companies, BUA Cement grew its revenue to N1.18 trillion in 2025, up from N876 billion in 2024; Lafarge Africa recorded N1.07 trillion, rising from N696 billion in the previous year; and Nestle rose to N1.02 trillion from N958 billion.

The three firms now sit alongside industry leaders such as MTN Nigeria, which tops the chart with N5.2 trillion in revenue, followed by Dangote Cement, which posted N4.31 trillion, reaffirming its position as Africa’s largest cement producer. Seplat Energy also remained a major player, recording N4.13 trillion, supported by stronger oil output and improved pricing.

In the fast-moving consumer goods segment, BUA Foods continued its impressive growth trajectory with N1.8 trillion in revenue, up from N1.52 trillion, driven by robust demand across its food product lines. Similarly, Nigerian Breweries Plc reported N1.46 trillion, reflecting price-led growth amid persistent cost pressures.

Despite a slight revenue decline, Oando Plc remained within the trillionaira bracket, posting N3.21 trillion in 2025, compared to N4.08 trillion in 2024, as the company adjusted to shifts in its operational and pricing structure.

The expansion of the trillionaira revenue bracket highlights the adaptability of large Nigerian corporates in navigating economic headwinds, particularly foreign exchange volatility and elevated production costs that defined much of 2024.

The Nigerian economy has bounced back from the much volatility and unpredictability that dominated 2023 and 2024, after President Bola Tinubu scrapped the costly and unsustainable fuel subsidy and unified the opaque exchange rate, a move that initially stoked prices and saw the naira plunge by more than 70 percent.

Those policies ballooned input costs for corporates, while many were hit by unprecedented foreign exchange losses. But the tides are changing now. The naira maintained its rarest stability in years in 2025, slowing down pressures on earnings. The local currency recorded a 7.5 percent gain, marking its first positive outing in more than a decade.

Headline inflation also cooled from a multi-year high, thanks to a rebasing and a new methodology that cut the rising numbers. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) also disclosed that Nigeria’s real-GDP economy grew by 3.87 percent in 2025, up from 3.38 percent in 2024.

The latest print marks Nigeria’s strongest annual performance since 2022 and extends the rebound from the pandemic-induced contraction of 6.96 percent in 2020. Growth recovered to 0.95 percent in 2021, accelerated to 4.32 percent in 2022, slowed to 3.04 percent in 2023, and has now strengthened for two consecutive years.

Similarly, the Consumer Price Index declined to 15.06 percent in February 2026 from 15.10 percent in January 2026.

Month-on-month, headline inflation saw an upward movement to 2.01 percent from -2.88 percent the previous month.

Analysts note that much of the revenue growth recorded across sectors was driven by a combination of pricing strategies and gradual naira stability, which helped companies better plan and manage costs.

Beyond revenue, profitability trends were mixed but largely improved across key sectors. Dangote Cement recorded N1.02 trillion in profit, joining MTN Nigeria, which posted N1.1 trillion, as the only companies to cross the trillion-naira profit mark in 2025.

Other firms, including BUA Cement, Lafarge Africa, and BUA Foods, also saw significant profit growth, 383 percent, 173 percent, and 91 percent, respectively. supported by improved margins and cost efficiencies.

Meanwhile, companies such as Nestlé Nigeria and Nigerian Breweries returned to profitability after posting losses in 2024, signaling a gradual recovery in the consumer goods sector.

The latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey reveals that Nigeria’s private sector returned to expansion in February, as improved exchange rate stability helped ease inflationary pressures to a six-year low and supported stronger business activity.

The headline PMI rose to 53.2 in February from 49.7 in January, signaling a renewed improvement in business conditions and marking the highest in two months.

“After the dip seen in January, the Nigerian private sector returned to growth, with the headline PMI settling higher at 53.2 points in February from 49.7 in January,” said Muyiwa Oni, head of equity research for West Africa at Stanbic IBTC Bank.

“Local currency appreciation helped to support softer input and output prices in February, as the naira has been trading below 1400 against the dollar consistently since 29 January,” he said.

While analysts see the Middle-East war driving another round of inflationary pressures, the continued FX stability and rising local sourcing should help offset imported inflation, allowing the companies to have another record-breaking year. (BusinessDay)

Update news