Breweries continue to grow earnings

Namibia Breweries Limited this week announced its results for the semester ended 31 December 2015. The brewer said its solid results are supported by good growth in operating earnings, despite volume migrations to South Africa, an increase in the competitive landscape and adverse foreign exchange fluctuations.
Turnover is down 3% and is mainly impacted by volume migration to South Africa. “Operating profit is up 5% which is attributed to strong gross margins resulting from favourable price variances and efficiencies in operating costs. Earnings per share and Headline earnings per share are up by 37% and 6% respectively. The investment in South Africa saw a decrease in share of losses attributable to the associate by 37%. A final dividend of 40c was declared, an increase of 8% from the previous period” the Breweries said in a statement accompanying the release of the financial results. A proud Managing Director, Wessie van der Westhuizen begun, “NBL delivered solid results which points to the strength of the Group’s capabilities to deliver on key business drivers in an increasingly challenging environment. NBL’s strategy is to continuously focus on partnering with our local, export and South African key markets where we have strong capabilities.”
Local beer volumes continued to grow and increased by 8% compared to the previous period. The current period saw the launch of two new beer brands, King Lager and Amstel Lite as well as a new soft drink variant, McKane Lemonade. Tafel Lager and Windhoek Lager continued to perform well and contributed to the overall growth in volumes.” Shifting the focus to the numbers, Finance Director, Graeme Mouton said: “NBL delivered a solid core margin despite very strong foreign exchange fluctuations. We continued our drive to support local procurement of goods and services and achieved a 38% local spend figure during the reporting period. The Namibian beer market continues to grow and strengthen our leading competitive position, resulting in an increase of 8% from the previous period”.
Van der Westhuizen concluded, “We anticipate a solid underlying performance in the second half of the [financial] year. In the Namibian and export markets we will continue to strengthen our current portfolio of brands as well as drive future growth through exciting and new innovations in line with consumer needs and trends.”