After two consecutive years marked by foreign exchange devaluation and inflation-driven cost pressures, Nigeria’s consumer goods sector staged a strong comeback in 2025, emerging as the best-performing segment of the equity market with a year-to-date (YTD) gain of approximately 115 per cent.
The surge has eased the strain on investors who weathered extended losses marked by capital erosion and shrinking shareholders’ funds, as consumer goods companies return to profitability with a strong balance sheet.
From a modest gain of 0.34 per cent when trading resumed in January 2025, the sector advanced steadily to 32.4 per cent by May, climbed close to the 100 per cent mark by September and has now extended its gains to around 115 per cent, firmly placing it ahead of all other sectoral indices on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).
NGX data show that the Consumer Goods Index has outperformed the broader market, surpassing the All-Share Index (ASI), which is up 47.7 per cent year to date.
Industrial Goods has returned 56.8 per cent, insurance 63 per cent and banking 34.9 per cent, while the oil and gas index remains in negative territory at –1.33 per cent.
The current performance represents a sharp reversal from May 2022, when the consumer goods index ranked among the worst performers with a return of about 12 per cent, trailing oil and gas at 50.3 per cent and banking at 17 per cent.
The rebound has been underpinned by improving corporate earnings, with several consumer goods manufacturers returning to profitability for the first time since 2023.
Market data indicate that easing foreign exchange pressures and better liquidity conditions, following policy measures by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stabilise the naira, have helped reduce currency-related losses and rising input costs that previously weighed heavily on the sector.
A look at the latest financial result (nine months 2025) showed that Cadbury Nigeria Plc, which is among the standout performers, posted a profit after tax of N9.68 billion for the nine months ended 30 September 2025, reversing a loss of N11.86 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2024.
Its revenue rose by 33 per cent year on year to N119.25 billion, supported by stronger volumes in beverages and confectionery as well as improved pricing.
The company’s gross profit also surged 88 per cent to N27.75 billion, reflecting tighter cost control and operational efficiency.
In the first half of 2025, Cadbury recorded a profit before tax of N14.5 billion, up from a loss of N13.88 billion in the same period of 2024, while profit after tax increased from a N9.72 billion loss in the first half of 2024 to a N10.18 billion profit in the first half of 2025.
Similarly, Nestlé Nigeria also delivered a significant turnaround as the company returned to profitability with a profit of N50.57 billion in the first half of 2025 after posting a loss of N177 billion in the first half of 2024.
Its nine-month results for the period ended September 2025 showed revenue growth of 33 per cent to N884.5 billion from N665 billion a year earlier.
The firm’s operating profit rose by 63.6 per cent to N181.3 billion, while profit before tax stood at N127.9 billion compared with a loss of N255.4 billion in the same period of 2024. Its profit after tax stood at N72.5 billion, reversing the N184.3 billion loss recorded a year earlier.
BUA Foods maintained its growth momentum, reporting strong double-digit revenue growth and a 101 per cent year-on-year increase in profit after tax to N405.3 billion for the nine months ended September 2025.
Its profit before tax rose to N432.6 billion from N215.7 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year, underscoring the benefits of a more stable operating environment and ongoing economic reforms.
Also, President of the NewDimension Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Patrick Ajudua, said the strong showing of consumer goods stocks in 2025 did not come as a surprise.
He recalled that during the COVID-19 period and the subsequent sharp devaluation of the naira, the sector was the worst hit, with several companies posting heavy losses and unable to pay dividends due largely to foreign exchange losses.
According to him, the tide has now turned as moderating inflation, improved stability in the foreign exchange market and stronger consumer demand have helped most companies return to profitability, resume dividend payments and regain investor confidence, driving significant capital appreciation in their share prices.
Ajudua added that if the current momentum was sustained, supported by stable government economic policies and lower interest rates that can ease production costs, shareholders stand to reap even stronger returns in 2026.
