Nigerian consumer goods firms are earning less in dollars than before the 2023 reforms

Nine of Nigeria's ten largest consumer goods firms generated less dollar revenue in 2025 compared to 2022, despite a nearly tripling of combined naira revenue and all ten companies experiencing real growth during the same period. The combined dollar revenue dropped by 22.0% from $6.22 billion in 2022 to $4.85 billion in 2025, while naira revenue surged by 178.3% from N2.65 trillion to N7.37 trillion.

Adjusted for inflation, real naira revenue grew by 39.6%, indicating genuine volume and pricing growth, yet insufficient to counteract the naira's 256.9% depreciation against the dollar.

Data and analysis were conducted by Nairametrics Research, utilizing audited financial statements from the Nigerian Exchange and exchange rate and inflation data from the Central Bank of Nigeria and the National Bureau of Statistics. The analysis focuses on the ten largest consumer goods companies by 2025-naira revenue, with available data for 2022. The most recent period for Honeywell Flour Mill represents the quarter ending June 2026, and PZ Cussons' figures reflect its unaudited full year ended May 2026.

The naira numbers reveal a significant expansion in the sector's naira revenue, with a compound annual growth rate of 40.66% between 2022 and 2025. After accounting for inflation, the sector's real compound annual growth rate was 11.77%, signifying a meaningful genuine expansion in volume and pricing. BUA Foods exhibited the strongest real naira revenue growth among the ten companies at 112.8%, driven by genuine volume expansion in its flour, pasta, and sugar businesses, outpacing both inflation and the naira's depreciation.

The 2023 naira devaluation impacted consumer goods companies through increased imported input costs, higher foreign currency liabilities, and substantial exchange losses. To mitigate the impact, companies responded through deleveraging, pricing adjustments, and localization strategies. Earlier research by Nairametrics identified seven global companies that have withdrawn from Nigeria since President Bola Tinubu's inauguration in May 2023, including Equinor, Kimberly-Clark, and Procter & Gamble.