The flagship of Kgalagadi Breweries, St Louis, has not done very well over the last trading year due to low alcohol content as prices of alcoholic beverages soar, the managing director, Hloni Matsela, told the media this week.
Presenting the results for the year ended 31 March 2012, the managing director said as prices go up, the public tends to go for higher alcoholic beverages which has justified the excellence of Castle Lite and Carling Black Label.
“As prices of alcoholic beverages go up, consumers tend to choose higher alcohol content beers,” Matsela told the media at the presentation of the company’s results this week in Gaborone.
St Louis has always been synonymous with Botswana alcohol industry over the years but results have shown a different story.
“St Louis and Castle larger share declined, but are showing signs of stabilization as a result of concerted marketing efforts and competitive brand category effects,” Matsela added.
This has justified higher alcohol content brands’ excellence such as Castle Lite and Carling Black Label against competing brands imported into the country such as Heineken and Amstel.
Matsela, however, says the company is on the way to recovery following three years of poor show due to flawed alcohol levy introduced in 2008. Although the managing director was cagey about his company’s full level performance and claiming of its lead in the market, he said he was confident soon KBL will raise its head as the market leader in Botswana.
“We hope to claim our market lead although we cannot say when. We do not know why it took so long for authorities to realize the flaws in the calculation of the levy,” said Matsela.
Sechaba Breweries saw its profit grow by 17 percent to P281 million while turnover grew by 23 percent to P1.5 billion as compared to P1.2 recorded last year.
