Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, a leading agro-allied conglomerate led by Greek multimillionaire John Coumantaros, plans to invest $1 billion over the next four years to strengthen its operations and support the company’s restructuring strategy.
The announcement follows Excelsior Shipping Company’s decision to buy out minority owners and take the company private.
The restructure attempts to streamline the 64-year-old company’s operations while also harmonizing with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, which are aimed at increasing investor confidence by eliminating subsidies and floating the naira.
“This is about doubling down on investment in Nigeria,” Coumantaros explained, adding that the investment will be focused on increasing sugar output and cassava processing.
Flour Mills intends to invest $500 million to expand its sugar facilities in Niger state, with the goal of quadrupling production from 100,000 to 400,000 tons annually.
An additional $100 million will be used to build a cassava-processing plant, with an emphasis on replacing imported cassava starch. As it expands into Nigeria’s burgeoning consumer market, the company wants to increase manufacturing of breakfast cereals as well.
In order to attract financial and technical partners, the group plans to reorganize its 22 companies into five separate units. “We want to grow our sugar and food businesses with the right partnerships,” Coumantaros said, noting that the majority of the investment will come from internal sources.
Flour Mills reported a 67.2 percent increase in revenue to N763.2 billion ($460.1 million) in the first quarter of 2025, up from N456.4 billion ($279.3 million) the previous year. The stock has increased by more than 80% this year, indicating significant investor confidence.
John Coumantaros owns 63.3 percent of Excelsior Shipping. Flour Mills will seek shareholder approval in October 2024 to fund $120 million for expansion. Founded by the late George Coumantaros, the company has developed to become a major player in Nigeria’s agro-allied industry under John’s leadership.
Flour Mills intends to expand throughout Africa by exploiting the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), beginning with West Africa. The company also intends to keep its Nigerian listing while seeking a dual listing on an international market.
