• Delta posted a record HY2026 revenue of US$514.2 million (+32% YoY), crossing half-billion mark for the first
• Historical second-half seasonal surge (average +119% on first-half revenue since 2009, with recent 3-year average +128%) and continued lager/sorghum strength project FY2026 revenue US$1.08–above 1 billion even under conservative assumptions.
• Despite heavy tax burden and rising competition from Innscor and Varun, Delta’s dominant market share keep it firmly on course for billion-dollar status

Harare- n the resilient yet turbulent landscape of Zimbabwe's economy, few companies embody the nation's unyielding spirit quite like Delta Corporation Limited. As the blue-chip behemoth of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE), Delta stands not merely as the country's premier beverages manufacturer but as its largest listed entity by market capitalisation, commanding over 30% of the exchange's total value. Founded in 1898 as Zimbabwe's inaugural brewery, Delta has weathered hyperinflation, currency upheavals, and policy whirlwinds to emerge as a diversified powerhouse in lager beers, sparkling beverages, sorghum brews, and beyond.

With operations spanning Zimbabwe, Zambia, and South Africa, the group's portfolio bolstered by strategic acquisitions like a controlling 69% stake in Schweppes Holdings Africa in April 2025 positions it as a regional contender.

Yet, as of November 2025, Delta teeters on the precipice of history, following a record-breaking half-year revenue of US$514.2 million for the period ended September 30, 2025, projections indicate it is primed to eclipse the US$1 billion mark in fiscal year 2026 (FY2026), ending March 31.

This feat would etch Delta as the third Zimbabwean firm to breach this threshold, trailing only Innscor Africa Limited's twin milestones of US$1.04 billion in 2014 and US$1.09  billion in 2025, and Zimplats Holdings Limited's platinum-fuelled surges to US$1.4 billion in 2021 and US$1.2 billion in 2022.

Amid whispers that Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe's telecom titan which also surpassed US$500 million in revenue for its FY2025 may soon join this elite cadre, Delta's ascent reflects a broader narrative of corporate tenacity in a dollarised yet volatile market.

Delta's latest half-year triumph, unveiled in November 2025, marks a watershed moment. Group revenue soared 32% year-on-year to US$514.2 million, eclipsing the half-billion barrier for the first time in its interim results. This surge was propelled by robust performances across core segments: lager beer volumes climbed 8% to 2.66 million hectolitres, fuelled by enhanced supply chains and competitive pricing amid rising consumer incomes from tobacco sales and gold mining booms; sorghum beer revenues expanded 16%, anchored by steadfast demand from mining enclaves and commercial agriculture, despite a 7% overall volume dip due to halted regional exports; and sparkling beverages grew 11%, a modest rebound tempered by pricing distortions.

Profit after tax ballooned 83% to US$75.05 million, reflecting operational efficiencies and a sharp retreat in exchange losses, which dwindled as the US dollar's dominance in transactions stabilized the financials.

These figures, denominated in USD to mirror transactional realities, reflect Delta's pivot toward foreign-currency-denominated sales, over 85% domestically insulating it from local currency erosions.

Yet, this half-year prowess is no isolated spike; it echoes a historical pattern where Delta's second-half revenues, coinciding with the festive season's bacchanalian surge in alcohol and beverage consumption, consistently outpace the first. Since dollarization's resurgence in 2009, this seasonal tailwind has been Delta's secret sauce, transforming modest mid-year gains into full-year blockbusters.

To appreciate Delta's trajectory toward the billion-dollar echelon, one must dissect its revenue evolution through the prism of half-year to full-year growth percentages, a metric that illuminates the second-half's outsized contributions.

From 2009 to 2018, the zenith of initial dollarisation, Delta's half-year revenues commenced at a subdued US$98.2 million in 2009, escalating to US$300.5 million by 2012 before stabilising around US$250 million amid economic headwinds.

Full-year tallies, however, painted a more expansive canvas: US$182.4 million in 2009 ballooned to US$631.3 million in 2013, then moderated to US$572.2 million in 2018. The percentage growth from half to full year reveals the second-half's potency: in 2009, it surged 85.8% (from US$98.2 million to US$182.4 million, adding US$84.2 million); 2010 clocked 151.3% (US$112 million HY to US$281.3 million FY, injecting US$169.3 million); 2011 hit 217.3% (US$128.7 million to US$408 million, a US$279.3 million leap); 2012 moderated to 84.6% (US$300.5 million to US$554.8 million, US$254.3 million added); 2013 eased to 100.1% (US$315.5 million to US$631.3 million, US$315.8 million); 2014 dipped to 108.0% (US$289.3 million to US$602.2 million, US$312.9 million); 2015 to 111.1% (US$269 million to US$576.6 million, US$307.6 million); 2016 to 118.2% (US$246.6 million to US$538.2 million, US$291.6 million); 2017 to 95.2% (US$247.62 million to US$482.9 million, US$235.28 million); and 2018 to 128.6% (US$250.1 million to US$572.2 million, US$322.1 million).

These figures, averaging 119.4% growth, quantify the second half's alchemy, where holiday indulgences and year-end stockpiling amplify revenues by 95% to over 217%, often doubling or tripling first-half gains. The second-half increments, ranging from US$84.2 million to US$322.1 million, reflect Delta's leverage of festive demand, a pattern resilient even in downturns.

This historical cadence persists into the post-2023 dollarisation era, where half-year revenues have accelerated from US$207 million in HY2023 to US$350.6 million in HY2024, US$389.1 million in HY2025, and now US$514.2 million in HY2026.

Full-year revenues, meanwhile, have climbed from US$536.9 million in FY2023 to US$767.9 million in FY2024 and US$807.5 million in FY2025, a 5% uptick driven by lager dominance despite sparkling's 4% volume contraction from sugar tax woes. Half-to-full growth percentages here mirror the past: 159.1% in 2023 (US$207 million to US$536.9 million, adding US$329.9 million); 119.0% in 2024 (US$350.6 million to US$767.9 million, US$417.3 million); and 107.3% in 2025 (US$389.1 million to US$807.5 million, US$418.4 million).

The average second-half uplift of US$388.5 million across these years validates the seasonal surge, with increments swelling 26.7% annually, buoyed by Delta's monopoly in sorghum (Chibuku) and 90% lager share.

Armed with this lineage, a factual projection for FY2026 emerges with mathematical precision. Applying the historical average half-to-full growth of 119.4% to HY2026's US$514.2 million yields a full-year revenue of US$1,126.5 million, an 8.7% advance over FY2025's US$807.5 million. More conservatively, anchoring to the recent three-year average of 128.5% growth projects US$1,173.6 million, incorporating the 32% HY year-on-year leap and assuming sustained festive momentum. Even the FY2025's 107.3% baseline extrapolates to US$1,078.4 million, comfortably surpassing US$1 billion.

These estimates, derived transparently from (FY Revenue - HY Revenue) / HY Revenue * 100 for each year, hinge on Delta's entrenched market position and consumer resilience, tempered by macroeconomic steadiness. Factoring a 5-10% buffer for volatility, rooted in past dips like 2017's 95.2% still lands Delta above the billion mark, cementing its third-place legacy.

Delta's ascent, however, is no unchallenged promenade. In FY2025, Delta remitted US$20.7 million in sugar taxes across Delta Beverages and Schweppes Zimbabwe, eroding 2.6% of revenues and spurring a 4% sparkling volume decline as imports of untaxed alternatives flooded markets.

Cumulatively, from February 2024 to September 2025, Delta's sugar tax outlays topped US$31.2 million.

Broader contributions include an annual average of US$7.5 million in Intermediated Money Transfer Tax (IMTT) over 2023-2025, plus excise duties that, in Q1 FY2026, alone hit US$6.7 million. Such levies, while funding health initiatives, distort competitiveness: Delta's compliant pricing cedes ground to informal sectors, with sparkling sales leaking to cheaper, unregulated imports.

Innscor Africa, Delta's arch-rival, mirrors this pain, disbursing US$10.1 million in sugar taxes in FY2024, half Delta's quantum yet proportionally stinging its US$910.1 million revenue, while its Nyathi sorghum brand chips at Chibuku's dominance, contributing to Delta's 10% sorghum volume drop in Q1 FY2025 amid drought and rival investments. Innscor's 2022 brewery foray, backed by US$56 million in capex, intensifies this fray, though Delta's scale, 14 sorghum breweries versus Innscor's nascent push preserves its moat. Varun Beverages' Pepsi incursion in lagers further tests Delta's 90% share, compelling price wars that squeezed Q1 FY2026 margins despite 25% overall revenue growth.

These headwinds, regulatory asymmetries, informal proliferation, and peer aggression, besiege Delta even as it innovates. Yet, the company's DNA of adaptation, from SABMiller bailouts in 2009 to Schweppes consolidation in 2025, fortifies its resolve. With Econet lurking at above 500 million, its FinTech arm up 35%, the race intensifies, but Delta, at the epicentre, toasts to a future where seasonal sparks ignite enduring legacies.

In a land of lions and lagers, this brewer's roar may well echo loudest.