High debt financing costs nearly drink up Bralirwa’s profit

Rwanda’s largest beer and soft drinks maker Bralirwa recorded a sharp decline in its half-year profit on account of high cost of financing its foreign debt due to the weakening of the Rwandan franc.

The Rwanda Stock Exchange-listed firm saw its net profit drop 83.8 per cent in the six months to June 2016 to Rwf3.6 billion ($4.6 million) from Rwf597 million ($748,709) posted a similar period a year earlier.