An employee inspects beer bottles on a conveyor belt at the East African Breweries Ruaraka factory East Africa Breweries Limited reported a 57.34 per cent (Sh4.2 billion) increase in net profit to Sh11.5 billion for the year ending June 30.
While announcing the firm’s results yesterday, EABL Group CEO Andrew Cowan said the performance was driven by leveraging on a more positive external environment compared to the same period last year.
Over the review period, profit for the year stood at Sh11.5 billion, representing an increase from Sh7.3 billion for the same period last year.
“We are fully conscious that the strong growth we are reporting this year is the result of a comparatively weaker performance in the last period, primarily due to political uncertainty in Kenya,” he said.
For the year under review, the beer maker reported a 12 per cent growth in net revenue EABL Group CEO Andrew Cowan said the performance was driven by leveraging on a more positive external environmentto Sh82.5 billion
This, according to Cowan, was a result of a combination of higher volumes in bottled beer and mixed improvements across brands and categories.
EABL’s cash position also improved, delivering operating cash flow of Sh22.6 billion compared to Sh13.6 billion last year.
Net sales in bottled beer recovered strongly to grow by eight per cent while Senator sales were up 32 per cent, as disposable income among consumers of the low-priced beer sprang back in tandem with economic recovery in Kenya.
As a result, the Board of Directors has recommended a final dividend of Sh6.00 per share, resulting in a total dividend of Sh8.50 per share, an increase from Sh7.50 per share a year ago.
