EABL offers shareholders $59 million in dividends despite drop in profit
Monday July 30 2018
East African Breweries Limited plant in Ruaraka, Nairobi. The regional brewer will spend $59.3 million to pay out dividends to its shareholders. PHOTO FILE | NATION
East African Breweries Ltd (EABL) will spend Ksh5.93 billion ($59.3 million) to pay out dividends to its shareholders, even as it posted reduced profits for the year ending June 30.
The regional brewer, which is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), will pay Ksh5.5 ($0.05) per share.
In its audited financial results released last week, EABL posted a net profit of Ksh7.25 billion ($72.5 million) for the 12-month period to June 30, 2018, compared with Ksh8.51 billion ($85.1 million) the previous year.
The management attributed the decline in earnings to a one-off tax provision.
Its total revenues, however, grew by five per cent to Ksh73.45 billion($734.5 million) from Ksh70.24 billion ($702.4 million), driven by the sales of new brands such as Tusker Cider, Serengeti Lite, Black and White, Captain Morgan Gold and Uganda Waragi Coconut.
Also contributing to the firm’s increased revenues across the region was bottled beer, mainstream spirits and Scotch whisky.
Capital expenditure during the period stood at Ksh13 billion ($130 million), with the construction of the new brewery in Kisumu, expansion of brewery capacity in Nairobi and installation of new spirit lines in Kenya and Uganda.
EABL operates through the several regional subsidiaries, Kenya Breweries Ltd, Uganda Breweries Ltd, Serengeti Breweries Ltd, UDV (Kenya) Ltd, East African Beverages (South Sudan) Ltd and East African Maltings Ltd.