UAC Nigeria PLC closed the 2025 financial year with a striking contrast: exceptional revenue growth on one hand, and sharply weakened profitability on the other, underscoring the short-term cost of the group’s aggressive expansion strategy.
According to its unaudited full-year results, UAC’s revenue surged by 74% to ₦343.4 billion, reflecting the transformational impact of its expanded packaged foods and beverages portfolio, most notably following the acquisition of C.H.I. Limited. The scale-up significantly altered the group’s topline profile, positioning packaged foods as the dominant revenue driver for the year.
Yet, the impressive sales momentum did not translate into headline profit growth.
Despite a solid improvement in gross profit and a modest rise in operating profit, profit before tax plunged by over 70% year-on-year, while profit after tax fell to under ₦1 billion, a steep decline from 2024 levels. Management attributed the earnings compression primarily to one-off acquisition-related costs estimated at over ₦21 billion, alongside higher finance charges in a high-interest environment.
The contrast was most visible in the final quarter of the year.
Q4 2025 revenue jumped 62% year-on-year to ₦183.8 billion, reflecting a full quarter of contribution from the newly acquired business. However, the group recorded a reported loss after tax of ₦4.9 billion in the quarter, reversing the profit posted in the same period of 2024. Operating profit for the quarter also declined on a reported basis as transaction costs and integration expenses were fully recognised.
Stripped of these exceptional items, however, the underlying picture appeared more resilient. On an adjusted basis, full-year profit before tax was estimated at approximately ₦28.7 billion, while underlying Q4 operating performance showed strong year-on-year growth — reinforcing management’s position that the profit slump was largely non-recurring.
Beyond the income statement, UAC’s balance sheet expanded dramatically. Total assets more than tripled, reflecting the scale of the acquisition and the group’s repositioning as a larger consumer goods player. At the same time, shareholder equity softened, mirroring the pressure from acquisition costs and financing structure changes.
For investors and market watchers, UAC’s 2025 results tell a clear story: a company in the midst of transformation. Revenue momentum confirms the strategic logic of the expansion, but the steep fall in reported profits highlights the execution and cost-management challenges that now define the next phase.
As the group enters 2026, attention will shift from acquisition headlines to integration synergies, margin recovery, and sustainable earnings growth — the true test of whether 2025’s profit plunge proves to be a temporary detour or a longer-term concern.
“The figures are based on the company’s unaudited results for the year ended December 31, 2025.”
