Guinness records huge profit decline

Guinness Ghana Limited on Monday announced a 50 per cent fall in consolidated annual profit for the financial year ended June 2000 despite a huge leap in turnover. The company's profit went down from 20,909 million cedis in 1998/99 financial year to 10,444 million cedis for the 1999/2000 year.

Turnover, however, shot up from by 29.88 per cent from 96,517 million cedis in 1998/1999 to 125,360 million cedis in 1999/2000.

The company, in a press release made available by the Ghana Stock Exchange, blamed the huge decline in profit on the sharp depreciation of the cedi against major international currencies and the high interest rates during the period.

Despite this, the company said, it has proposed a total dividend of 70 cedis per share for the financial year. This represents a dividend pay-out ratio of 79 per cent as against 39 per cent last year.