diff --git a/swh/journal/client.py b/swh/journal/client.py
index ff6f0ef..344f629 100644
--- a/swh/journal/client.py
+++ b/swh/journal/client.py
@@ -297,13 +297,13 @@ class JournalClient:
             if message.value() is None:
                 # ignore message with no payload, these can be generated in tests
                 continue
-            nb_processed += 1
             object_type = message.topic().split(".")[-1]
             deserialized_object = self.deserialize_message(
                 message, object_type=object_type
             )
             if deserialized_object is not None:
                 objects[object_type].append(deserialized_object)
+                nb_processed += 1
 
         if objects:
             worker_fn(dict(objects))