In the News: Beta Glass CEO Interviewed by Business Day

Exclusive: Beta Glass to invest €17,5m in Nigeria's business expansion push.

Alex Gendis is the chief executive officer of Beta Glass, Nigeria’s biggest glass maker. In this exclusive interview with BusinessDay’s Wasiu Alli, Gendis reveals the company’s plans to invest more, especially to rebuild one of the firm’s furnaces to further increase capacity. He sees the company’s maintaining its growth and profitability streak on rising demand.

Beta Glass’ PAT went up almost 600 percent in Q1 2025. What strategies were behind this stellar result and the company’s outlook for the full year?

We are pleased to see Beta Glass accelerating its performance, led through the execution of our business-wide transformation strategy, which commenced in early 2023. We have delivered operational efficiency improvements at our plants in Agbara, Ijebu Ode, and Ughelli, streamlining production and optimising energy usage. Across the business, we have a clear focus on capital discipline and managing our cost base, setting us up well to support our existing customers and explore new offerings.

Alongside this, we have continued to position Beta Glass strategically in the marketplace, supporting the growing demand in food and beverage, and focusing on the growing domestic pharmaceutical, wine and spirits sectors.

We will continue to deliver against our strategy, supporting our customers, and developing into new product lines. We appreciate that there is market volatility, and Beta Glass has put in place processes, systems and agreements to position us well to continue driving our performance and are well poised to accelerate our growth. Beta Glass sees strong demand from our core markets, and we project significant year-on-year growth and profitability.

With PAT up nearly 600%, what can shareholders expect in terms of dividend policy for 2025? Will Beta Glass target a specific payout ratio?

We are committed to delivering shareholder value aligned to strong business performance and will outline our dividend policy in the coming months. We are committed to growing our business and investing in our facilities, including an additional €17.5mn to rebuild one of our furnaces to further increase capacity and our capabilities. We will continue to balance shareholder returns with building long-term value in Beta Glass.

How is the company’s expansion drive into Francophone markets panning out? How is AfCFTA auguring for the firm’s core business?

Beta Glass continues to serve our core market in Nigeria and regional customers, with Beta Glass now exporting to over nine countries. Our focus remains on producing high-quality, durable glass products that offer significant lifetime cost and sustainability advantages over plastic or metal packaging.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) presents a significant opportunity for Beta Glass by reducing trade barriers and fostering greater economic integration across the continent. AfCFTA is creating a larger and more accessible market for our high-quality glass products. Demand for consumer products continues to show strong growth across the region, and we are further investing to increase capacity and our capabilities to serve our existing customers and new demand.

Besides Beta Glass’ Agbara and Ughelli manufacturing plants in Ogun and Delta States, are there plans to green-field or brown-field additional plants elsewhere in Nigeria to meet demand?

We are investing in our facilities, including an additional €17.5mn to rebuild one of our furnaces to further increase capacity, and our capabilities to serve our core market in Nigeria and regional customers. We have recently completed the installation of solar power generation at our facilities in Agbara and will continue to invest where we see growth opportunities at our existing assets, where we have development potential.

What’s your view of the macroeconomic situation of the country now? Do you see it boosting earnings this year?

We continue to see volatility in the Nigerian market, and as a business, we responded by better aligning our agreements with our customers to reflect the market dynamics in Nigeria as it relates to inflation and currency movements. We have continued to position Beta Glass strategically in the marketplace supporting the growing demand in food and beverage, along with also moving into supporting the domestic pharmaceutical, wine and spirits sectors. Our focus remains on producing high-quality, durable glass products that offer significant lifetime cost and sustainability advantages over plastic or metal packaging. Demand for consumer products continues to show strong growth as the Nigerian population increases and purchasing habits evolve.

As a leading glass producer, what constraints does Beta Glass have and how are you tackling them?

We are focused on creating increasingly sustainable products. This is part of making Beta Glass stronger and more resilient for the future and contributing to the national objective, consistent with those of other countries we export to. We have recently completed the installation of solar power generation at our facilities in Agbara, increased the use of recycled glass content in our products, put in place triple energy redundancy systems and processes to optimise the use of the largest element of Beta Glass’ cost, and are now continuing our programme of research and innovation including lightweighting our products whilst maintaining durability and quality for the consumer.

Responding to market volatility, we have better aligned our agreements with our customers to reflect the market dynamics in Nigeria as it relates to inflation and currency movements. Across the business, we have a clear focus on capital discipline and managing our cost base, setting us up well to support our existing customers and explore new offerings.

The company attributed the robust margins seen in Q1 to “cost management and operational efficiency”. Guide us through your process of sourcing for key inputs, are there any FX exposure in this matter?

Across the business, we have a clear focus on capital discipline and managing our cost base, setting us up well to support our existing customers, and explore new offerings. Where it is viable to do so, we source raw materials within the Nigerian market, reducing our foreign exchange risk – this includes our crucial raw material of limestone. However, there are feedstock materials, including soda ash that we must import. When this is necessary, we maintain a rigorous supplier selection process and look to develop strong partnerships to deliver best value and resilience in our sourcing with competitive pricing.

Up almost 300 percent in the exchange this year. What are your thoughts on investors’ appetite for your company’s stock? How is the company going to interact with the market soon? Any public offers or capital raising?

We are pleased to see Beta Glass accelerating its performance, led through the execution of our business-wide transformation strategy, which commenced in early 2023 and the strong share price reflecting investor confidence in the business and its future potential.

What ways is Beta Glass championing sustainable packaging solutions and adopting environmentally friendly practices?

Sustainability is at the core of our long-term vision and operational strategy. We are actively championing sustainable packaging solutions and adopting environmentally friendly practices across our value chain. Our focus remains on producing high-quality, durable glass products that offer significant lifetime cost and sustainability advantages over plastic or metal packaging with glass being infinitely recyclable in a circular system. We are investing in recycled glass collection initiatives and infrastructure, along with forming partnerships to increase the volume of glass we can feed into our process.

We are now continuing our programme of research and innovation, including lightweighting our products whilst maintaining durability and quality for the consumer. This reduces the amount of material used per unit, lowering transportation costs and the overall environmental footprint.

Beta Glass has been in existence for over five decades creating value and sustainability. Where do you see the company in the next decade?

Beta Glass is the leading glass bottle manufacturer in Nigeria. We are trusted by our customers to deliver high quality, durable glass products and we will continue to support the evolving needs of our customers and partners. We will continue to establish our position as the leading and most sustainable glass manufacturer in Sub-Saharan Africa over the coming years.

We will continue to deliver against our strategy, supporting our customers, and developing into new product lines. Beta Glass works in partnership with customers to meet their current, and evolving needs along with being focused on creating increasingly sustainable products. This is part of making Beta Glass stronger and more resilient for the future and continuing to deliver shareholder value.

We are investing in our facilities including an additional €17.5mn to rebuild one of our furnaces to further increase capacity, and our capabilities to serve our core market in Nigeria, and regional customers, with Beta Glass now exporting to over nine countries.