A recent analysis of the 2023 full-year financial statements of nine NGX-listed companies showed they were hugely affected by volatilities in the foreign exchange market.

The crisis followed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy which prompted the unification of the forex market and the devaluation of the naira in June 2023. The move took the naira down by over 40% from ₦471.67/$1 to over ₦600 immediately after the introduction of the policy and as of today, at ₦1,388/$1.

The forex crisis further compounded the woes faced by the manufacturing sector arising from the removal of oil subsidy, Russia/ Ukraine war among other adverse developments.

The review showed the nine affected companies as:

The firm recorded the highest FX losses, totaling ₦201.67 billion. This amount represented 45.3% of the company’s revenue over the period.

Cadbury Nigeria recorded ₦36.93 billion forex losses over the period. The company’s shareholders voted on a debt-to-equity conversion on February 8, 2023, due to the forex losses.

Unilever recorded the lowest losses at ₦4.58 billion. This indicated an increase of 177.5% in forex losses from ₦1.65 billion recorded in 2022.

PZ Cussons recorded forex losses of ₦4.95 billion in the year under review.

BUA Cement reported ₦69.96 billion foreign exchange loss in 2023. This represented a 1,172% increase from ₦5.5 billion foreign exchange loss reported in 2022.

Nestle emerged as the second biggest loser, reporting ₦195.07 billion foreign exchange loss in 2023 from ₦8.45 billion foreign exchange loss in 2022. This represented a 2,208.52% increase in forex losses.

Nigerian Breweries Plc reported ₦153.33 billion net loss on foreign exchange transactions in 2023 from ₦26.34 billion in 2022.

Guinness Nigeria posted a forex loss of ₦49.09 billion during the period.

International Breweries recorded ₦70.37 billion in foreign exchange losses for the year.

The forex crisis led to a combined loss of ₦839.24 billion in the 2023 financial year while the combined losses represent 18.06% of the ₦4.64 trillion revenue generated over the same period.