Tusker, the flagship brand of EABL. The brewer posted a five per cent rise in net profit to Sh3.95 billion in the half year ended December 2013. Photo/FILE
East African Breweries Limited (EABL) net profit rose 5.1 per cent in the half year ended December 2013, with the company declaring an interim dividend of Sh1.50 per share.
The brewer on Friday said its net income stood at Sh3.95 billion in the period compared to Sh3.76 billion a year earlier. This came as sales rose 3.9 per cent to Sh31.8 billion, with the firm relying on cost-cutting measures to grow earnings.
Its cost of goods sold (COGS) declined marginally to Sh16.1 billion while its net finance costs also receded slightly to Sh2 billion.
Analysts at Standard Investment Bank (SIB) said the brewer’s performance in the three months to December was affected by reduced Senator Keg sales after its duty remission was halved to 50 per cent.
“Overall we think the brewer delivered a positive performance. We however maintain our sell recommendation primarily based on price, with a fair value of Sh197.8,” SIB said in a statement.
EABL’s share price has dropped 25.6 per cent over the past six months to trade at Sh249 Friday at 12.02pm.
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