Turnover down, profits up, Breweries smile

Despite a marginal decrease in turnover, the Breweries managed to grow operating profit by 6.7% for the financial year ended 30 June 2016. Namibian beer volumes grew by 8%.
Namibia Breweries Ltd, the heavyweight in the Olthaver & List stable released its financials last week, saying that an operating profit of N$541 million was realised on an annual turnover of N$2.4 billion. Earnings per Share grew by 43.8% but headline earnings came down by 0.7% to 185.7 cents and the board declared a final dividend of 40 cents.
NBL Managing Director, Wessie van der Westhuizen said “NBL’s solid performance was the direct result of employees taking ownership and bringing our purpose ‘Creating a Future, Enhancing Life’ to life. We brought a sense of urgency, speed of execution, innovation and breakthrough intent into all our conversations. These results were achieved despite continued macro-economic challenges, volume migration to South Africa and exchange rate impacts.”
Namibia beer volumes continue to grow and increased by 8% compared to the previous period, driven predominantly by Tafel Lager sales. The current year saw the launch of two new beer brands, King Lager and Amstel Lite. “We further launched two new soft drink variants, as an addition to our non-alcoholic portfolio, McKane Lemonade and Vigo Marula Lite. Windhoek Draught and Windhoek Lager continued to grow and excite its consumers by amongst others, hosting the Boyz II Men concert and supporting various other campaigns. NBL has also strengthened its strategy to position itself in the craft beer market and started trading in the mainstream water category with the brand Aquasplash” elaborated the MD. NBL Finance Director, Graeme Mouton said “NBL delivered a solid operating margin of 22% despite very strong foreign exchange fluctuations. The Namibian beer market continues to grow and strengthen our leading competitive position, resulting in an increase of 8% from the previous year. We continuously increase our support to local procurement partners [and] we have achieved a local spend figure of 38% during the current year.”