Soft drinks maker, 7-Up Bottling Company said on Monday that currency weakness related to the recent Naira devaluation led to higher cost of goods sold and higher selling and distribution expenses, resulting in a half-year loss . The bottler of Pepsi-Cola declared a net loss of N1.6bn.

Seven-Up said that sales grew 19% to N47bn despite the macroeconomic challenges. In the previous year, revenue was N40bn. However, a 26% jump in cost of sales to N38bn, from N28bn plus a 26% rise in selling and distribution expenses all weighed on the soft drink maker’s earnings.

Fast Moving Consumer Goods Companies (FMCGs) in Nigeria including soft drinks companies and brewers have been battling a weakened naira which has spiked inflation and higher increases in the cost of production.

Seven-Up bottles and markets PepsiCo brands in Nigeria such as Pepsi, 7-Up, Mirinda, Aquafina, among others.