South African packaging giant back in the black

Nampak’s turnaround plan has seen the packaging giant swing from a loss of R381.4 million in 2024 to a profit of R3.55 billion in its 2025 financial year.

This comes after years of Nampak reporting weak results and continued losses, which led the company to dispose of various assets as part of the plan to get it back on track.

Nampak is the largest manufacturer of beverage cans in South Africa and Angola, and it holds substantial positions in other metal packaging in South Africa.

Over the past few years, Nampak has been implementing a turnaround strategy following years of decline.

On Monday, 8 December 2025, Nampak released its results for the financial year ended 30 September 2025, which showed that the group’s turnaround efforts are paying off.

The company’s revenue from continuing operations increased by 7.74% to R10.73 billion, while its operating profit grew by 13.43% to R1.94 billion.

Nampak reported R1.33 billion total comprehensive income for the year, marking a 365.59% increase from the loss it reported in 2024.

Nampak’s total basic earnings improved from a loss of 4,500.8 cents to earnings of 41,756.8 cents per share.

The company recorded headline earnings per share of 7,739.6 cents, excluding once-off capital and other items, marking a 46% increase from 2024.

This turnaround was, in part, due to Nampak’s net finance costs decreasing by 45% to R508 million, as the group managed to reduce its net debt by 52% to R2.1 billion.

Nampak was able to reduce its debt significantly using the proceeds from disposals of R1.5 billion and R237 million from a Covid-19 insurance claim. 

The company said its strong results were achieved despite a challenging South African economic and competitor landscape, including constrained consumer spending.

“Numerous fast-moving consumer goods categories have contracted volumetrically due to tenuous market conditions,” the company said.

“By virtue of Nampak’s position in the value chain, it too could not escape the slowing market, which curtailed what could have amounted to stronger revenue growth in South Africa.”

However, the group said a strong performance from Beverage Angola bolstered the company’s turnover and profitability.

Nampak did not declare a dividend for the 2025 financial year.