International Breweries vs. Nigerian Breweries: Who performed better in 2025

Nigerian Breweries and International Breweries have released their full-year 2025 audited and unaudited results, respectively, marking a sharp rebound in profitability after the heavy losses recorded in 2023 and 2024.

On market performance, in 2025, International Breweries’ shares surged by 152% year-to-date, while Nigerian Breweries gained 135% over the same period.

The momentum has carried into 2026, with International Breweries up 7% YtD and Nigerian Breweries up 4% as of the close of trading last week.

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These rallies appear to be largely driven by the return to profitability in the 2025 financial year.

However, beyond the headline share price performance, a more important question remains: who performed better in 2025, and which company offers the stronger shareholder return outlook for 2026?

A cursory review and analysis of their filed unaudited full-year 2025 financial statements show a nuanced picture.

While Nigerian Breweries maintains clear dominance in terms of size, revenue, and asset base, International Breweries appears to have delivered stronger efficiency gains, as reflected in its profit margins.

At the same time, Nigerian Breweries still stands out in terms of absolute profitability and valuation support.

So, did scale win over efficiency? A closer look at their earnings, margins, balance sheets, and valuations provides a clearer answer.

**Nigerian Breweries still sells more beer **

When it comes to beer sales in Nigeria, Nigerian Breweries remains the clear market leader. In 2025, the company generated over N1.4 trillion in revenue, more than double International Breweries’ N620 billion, even as both companies recorded strong top-line growth.

• Nigerian Breweries’ revenue rose by 35% year-on-year, ahead of International Breweries’ 27% growth, reflecting its continued dominance by scale.
• That scale advantage also showed up in the profit turnaround story. After two bruising years in 2023 and 2024 marked by heavy losses, both brewers returned to profitability in 2025.

However, Nigerian Breweries delivered the bigger comeback in absolute terms. The company flipped a N145 billion loss into a N99 billion profit, while International Breweries rebounded to about N63 billion profit from a steep N114 billion loss a year earlier.

But when the analysis shifts from “how much profit” to “how efficiently profit is generated,” the picture becomes more nuanced.

• At the operating level, Nigerian Breweries is slightly more efficient, retaining more operating profit from each naira of revenue. This points to stronger cost control or better operating leverage in production and distribution.
• However, below the operating line, International Breweries begins to look more efficient. Despite its smaller size, IB converted a higher share of its revenue into profit before tax and after tax, indicating a leaner bottom-line structure in 2025.

In other words, this is not a simple win–lose comparison: Nigerian Breweries dominates on scale and total profits, while International Breweries stands out on profitability margins and bottom-line efficiency.

A key factor behind both companies’ return to profit was the improvement in the foreign exchange environment, which sharply reduced FX-related losses and finance costs.

• Nigerian Breweries’ finance costs fell by 82% to N46 billion, while it swung to a foreign exchange gain of N752 million from a N157.6 billion loss in 2024.
• International Breweries also saw finance costs drop to N6.7 billion from N35 billion, while its foreign exchange loss narrowed sharply to N7 billion from N143.5 billion in the prior year.

On return, while International Breweries shows stronger bottom-line margins, Nigerian Breweries remains superior in capital efficiency, delivering higher returns on both assets and equity.

This suggests that NB not only earns more in absolute terms but also uses its balance sheet more effectively to generate shareholder returns.

As of December 2025, Nigerian Breweries had N1.1 trillion in total assets, much bigger than International Breweries’ N741.5 billion

This huge asset base means Nigerian Breweries has more room to grow, invest in new ideas, and hold its ground in the market.

It also gives it more power when dealing with suppliers and partners, which really matters when prices are rising everywhere.

**Valuation **

While International Breweries stands out for its improving margins and conservative balance sheet, Nigerian Breweries offers a more compelling valuation case.

• NB combines stronger earnings power and higher returns on capital with cheaper multiples across earnings, cash flow, sales, and book value.
• In contrast, IB’s stock appears to be pricing in a much more optimistic growth trajectory, leaving less margin for error.

From a risk-reward perspective, Nigerian Breweries currently looks better supported by both fundamentals and valuation going into 2026.

**Who is likely to return to dividends first? **

Since the downturn began in 2023, neither Nigerian Breweries nor International Breweries has paid a dividend.

Nigerian Breweries last paid a dividend in 2023, distributing N1.03 per share as a final dividend for the 2022 financial year.

• Based on their 2025 performance and the state of their accumulated losses, Nigerian Breweries appears better positioned to resume dividend payments first.
• As of December 2025, Nigerian Breweries had reduced its retained losses to about N72 billion, from N169.8 billion in 2024.
• With profit after tax of over N90 billion in 2025, the company is on track to fully eliminate these retained losses in 2026, clearing a key hurdle to a potential return to dividends.

International Breweries, while also making progress, remains further away. Its retained losses stood at about N179 billion, down from N242 billion, and even with its improving profit trend, it could take roughly three more years to fully wipe out these accumulated losses before dividends become a realistic option.

**Final investment verdict **

Nigerian Breweries offers the more compelling risk-reward profile: stronger earnings power, higher returns on capital, cheaper valuation, and a clearer path back to dividends.

International Breweries is a solid turnaround story with better margins and a safer balance sheet, but at current prices, much of that optimism already appears priced in.