Sechaba Holdings, which co-owns of the country’s top brewery, has seen profit triple despite challenging environment plagued by ban on alcoholic sales.
Sechaba Holdings is made up of two associate companies, Kgalagadi Breweries Limited (KBL) and Coca Cola Beverages Botswana (CCBB), holding 49.9 percent shareholding in each company, while the rest is held by Ab-InBev. In the financial performance for the half year ended June 2021, Sechaba’s profit before tax nearly tripped from 2019’s profit of P35 million to P74.7 million.
The improved performance largely had to do with base effects. While much of the first half of 2020 had stringent interventions to curb the spread of COVID-19, resulting in an alcohol ban from April to June, the first half of 2021 only had an alcohol ban that run for a month,
The company says it is now working on strategies to reduce the negative consequences of the impacts of COVID19 and to improve resiliency in the changing environment during and after the COVID era.
“The strategies will also be adopted to overcome vulnerability to future disruptions and capitalise more effectively on the opportunities arising in the post COVID19 recovery phase. The associates anticipate that these strategies will position them to continue winning in the marketplace as greater certainty and stability return” the company said in a statement.
Amid the frequent alcohol bans, with the latest that was implemented in July to August, Sechaba’s share price was pummelled in the stock market, with investors losing 19.61 percent since the year began. As a sweetener to the losses, Sefalana has declared a 16 thebe interim dividend.
