Covid drains NamBrew's profit barrel

Jo-Maré Duddy – A slump in revenue and an equity loss from Heineken SA due to alcohol bans as a Covid-19 preventative measure left Namibia Breweries (NBL) with profit of only about N$261.3 million for the year ended 30 June 2020 – 72% or N$669 792 less than in its 2019 book-year.

Results released on the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) this morning show revenue for the past financial year falling by 14.6% to nearly N$2.65 billion, N$451 751 less than the comparative period in 2019.

Headline earnings per share (HEPS) – a profit gauge – were 125.6c, down from 450.7c in 2019.

“NBL’s overall volumes declined by 16.6% given an unusually challenging year as a result of Covid-19,” NamBrew said.

“The ban on the sale of alcohol during the months of April and May 2020 contributed in a volume decline of -14.6% for Namibia (2019: +3.9%), and a decline of -22.9% (2019: +44.8%) for volumes to South Africa while our export markets showed a volume growth of 10.4% (2019: -31.2%).

“Towards the end of the financial year, operations resumed with some normality and we were able to deliver products to customers and see consumers enjoying our brands again,” the locally-listed giant continued.

A final dividend of 53c (interim dividend: 53c) per ordinary share was declared for 2020. No special dividend was declared for this year (2019: 121.05c per ordinary share).

NamBrew Thursday closed at N$33.01 per share on the Local Index of the NSX. The share price has lost 32% since the end of 2019 when it closed at N$48.27 a piece.

In terms of market capitalisation by total shares in issue, NamBrew remains the biggest company on the Local Index.

On Thursday, its market capitalisation was N$6.818 billion – about N$3 billion less than at the end of 2019.

Read the full report Monday in Market Watch.

