Bua Foods Drives Profitability in Q3 2026 with Cost Efficiency, Earnings Grows 11% Even as Turnover Dips
Bua Foods Plc reworked its cost line to manage its declining revenue in the first nine months of 2026, growing its profit after tax by 11% from N405.3 billion ($303 million) in 2025 to N450.4 billion in the same period in 2026, according to the report filed at the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) on Friday.
Revenue had dropped by 19% to N1.15 trillion in 2026 from N1.4 trillion in 2025. Revenue dropped across the key product lines with sales of bakery flour which accounts for over one-third of revenue dropping by over 30% from N557 billion in 2025 to N388 billion in 2026.
The sales of non-fortified sugar also fell from N146 billion to N102 billion while that of fortified sugar declined by 30% from N146 billion to N102 billion.
Analysts believe that increase in the cost of living and availability of cheaper brands from smuggling activities through neighboring countries may have played a significant role in the company’s falling revenue.
To manage this challenge, Bua enhanced its cost management strategy with improvement in operational efficiency showing up in cost of sales which fell from 63% as a percentage of revenue in 2025 to 52% in 2026.
The fall in cost of sales resulted in the rise of gross profit which grew by 6% from N520.6 billion in 2026 to N552.9 billion in 2026. Administrative expenses dropped by 26% from N30.4 billion to N22 billion while selling and distribution expenses dropped by 15% from N53.2 billion to N45 billion.
The efficiency drive continued with renewed focus on cash sales with trade and receivables dropping by 63% from N101.8 billion to N37.8 billion.
The increasing drive for tax under the new tax structure of the Federal Government also showed up in the company’s deferred tax liabilities which increase by 160% from about N2 billion to N5.2 billion.
The company decreased reliance on borrowings to fund its operations while using more leverage on suppliers and trade partners during the period. Bank overdraft and borrowings decreased by almost 20% from N391 billion to N315 billion while trade and other payables by almost 26% within the period.
