GBL posts turnover of 52 per cent

Accra, Jan 26, GNA - The Ghana Brewery Limited (GBL) returned a turnover of 52 per cent, fixing at 206.6 million cedis last year compared to the corresponding figure of 136.1 million cedis for 2002.

This was attributed to the much improved product mix, price, higher volumes and more efficient distribution at the retail level. A commentary on the un-audited results for the year ended December 31, 2003 made available to the Ghana News Agency said operating profit rose from a loss of 0.8 billion in 2002 to 29.3 billion for the same period this year, representing a 14. 2 per cent of turnover compared to the negative 0.6 per cent in 2002.

Profit after financial charges and taxation shows that the 5 million euros support from Heineken, the majority shareholder, and the conversion of 7.5 million euros inter-company debt into equity to redress the weak capital structure resulted in a sharp decline in interest charges and foreign exchange losses.

Interest charges fixed at a low of 1.8 billion cedis compared to the 9.4 billion cedis posted in 2002.

The company registered an exchange gain of 6.4 billion cedis last year against the 0.65 billion for the same period last year. GBL said the depreciation of the cedi against the euro and the effects of inflation resulted in an increase in the costs of raw materials, spare parts, energy and water tariffs.

"However, the growth in turnover together with the initiatives taken by management to rationalise GBL's cost base and increased productivity and efficiency contributed to the improvement in operating profit," the document said.