Merger costs weigh down SABMiller's profit

Beer brewer SABMiller‘s profits dropped significantly last year, because of several African expenses related to its pending merger with competitor AB InBev later this year.

Major costs in Africa

Over the past fiscal year, SABMiller managed a 19.8 billion dollar (17.6 billion euro) turnover, a 10 % drop compared to the year before. Adjusted pretax profit also dropped 16 % to 4.1 billion dollars (3.6 billion euro), below analysts’ expectations, which stood at a 4.58 billion dollar (4.1 billion euro) profit.

Its results were seriously hampered by a 721 million dollar (640 million euro) charge: 575 million dollars (510 million euro) were spent in Angola and South Sudan, while its pending merger with AB InBev also cost 160 million dollars (142 million euro).

Looking at volumes, SABMiller’s sales grew, particularly in Africa and Latin America, while Chinese and American sales lagged behind.

SABMiller is relatively happy with its results. “These are good results. To achieve these despite the difficult economic situation and harsh exchange rates, while being distracted with AB InBev’s offer, shows how dedicated and how hard our staff worked”, CEO Alan Clark said.