13th Nov 2014 07:20
LONDON (Alliance News) - Brewing giant SABMiller PLC Thursday reported higher first-half profit and revenue, driven by growth in Africa and Latin America, notably for soft drinks, but held back by weaker sales in China and Australia.
The company reported a pretax profit of USD2.83 billion for the six months to end-September, up from USD2.43 billion a year earlier, as revenue grew to USD11.37 billion, from USD11.10 billion, and the company made cost savings.
It said total beverage volumes were up 1% on an organic basis, as 9% growth in soft drinks sales, driven by Africa, Latin America and Europe, offset a 1% decline in lager volumes.
"We continued to grow earnings in the first half with challenging trading conditions mitigated by ongoing efficiencies. Group net producer revenue was driven by lager growth in Africa and Latin America and strong performance in our soft drinks businesses in Africa, Latin America and Europe. Lower lager sales in parts of Europe and Asia Pacific resulted in a small group EBITA margin decline during the half year," Chief Executive Alan Clark said in a statement.
"We are well-placed to capture future top line growth opportunities in both emerging and developed markets and are making good initial progress on our plan to realise US$500 million from operational efficiencies and cost savings," he added.
SABMiller raised its interim dividend to 26.0 US cents, from 25.0 cents.
By Steve McGrath; [email protected]; @stevemcgrath1
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