Harare – Delta Corporation's anchor shareholder, AB InBev on Thursday reported that its profit attributable to equity holders for the fourth quarter fell to $457 million from $3.04 billion in the previous-year quarter. Earnings per share slipped to $0.23 from $1.54 per share a year ago.
The global brewer holds a 40 percent controlling stake in in the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed concern and has supported Delta through credit lines for the importation of raw materials since access to foreign currency became limited and so far, AB-InBev has shelled out US$60 million to keep Delta afloat, according to Company secretary Alex Makamure.
In the period under review, normalized profit attributable to equity holders for the quarter decreased to $1.57 billion from $2.05 billion last year, while normalized earnings per share declined to $0.80 from $1.04 a year ago.
The group said normalized profit for the quarter was negatively impacted by mark-to-market losses linked to the hedging of the company's share-based payment programs.
Revenue for the quarter declined to $14.25 billion from $14.60 billion in the prior year. On an organic basis, revenue grew by 5.3 percent, with revenue per hl growth of 4.9 percent in the quarter. On a constant geographic basis, revenue per hl grew by 4.6 percent.
Total volumes increased by 0.3 percent, with own beer volumes up 1.2 percent and non-beer volumes down 4.9 percent.
Combined revenues of the company's three global brands, Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona, grew by 9.8 percent in the quarter.
Looking ahead to fiscal 2019, AB InBev said it expects to deliver strong revenue and EBITDA growth, driven by the solid performance of its brand portfolio and strong commercial plans.
The company also expects to deliver full-year revenue per hl growth ahead of inflation based on premiumization and revenue management initiatives, while keeping costs below inflation.
Meanwhile, earlier this month AB InBev said it will place over $120 million in unremitted dividends and fees in Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) savings bonds to reduce pressure on the demand for foreign currency by Delta.
Of that amount, about $95 million is unremitted dividend and the balance caters for fees and other charges.
The world's largest brewer is yet to receive a total US$70 million in dividends from its Delta Corporation investment owing to delays by the local central bank to settle international payments due to the prevailing chronic liquidity crunch and cash crisis.
The failure by companies to remit dividend to foreign shareholders comes despite the setting up of a $5 million portfolio investment fund by RBZ in 2017 to speed up the repatriation of portfolio related funds to foreign investors invested on the stock market.
In its third quarter report to December 31, Delta said its lager beer volume grew by 27 percent and was up 43 percent for the nine months. The sorghum beer volume grew by 15 percent compared to the prior year for the quarter six percent for the nine months to December 31 2018.
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