Champion Breweries Plc, the Akwa Ibom-based brewer reported a 9% growth in net profit for the six months ended 30th June. The company’s net earnings rose to N86m ($237,500) from N79m ($218,000) in the previous year. In the three months to the end of June, profit soared 114% to 47m, from N22m.

The profit rise came on the back of a 25% surge in sales in the six months to end of June as sales reached N2.3bn ($6.4m) from N1.8bn ($5m) in 2016. At the same time, cost of sales grew 33% reflecting higher input costs and inflation. However, the firm kept a lid on expenses as selling and administrative expenses stayed nearly the same from the previous year.

Champion Breweries is majorly owned by Raysun Nigeria Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Heineken N.V. The brewery was first acquired by Heineken N.V. in 2010 from Sona Group and transferred to Consolidated Breweries Plc another wholly owned company of Heineken.  In January 2014, majority shares were transferred to Raysun Nigeria Limited through a cross deal on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).