SABMiller falls flat as revenues lose sparkle after dollar woes
Shares in SABMiller crept up yesterday as investors shrugged off the firm’s dollar woes and instead focused on the fundamentals.
The world’s largest brewer saw its full-year results take a hit as the strong dollar weighed heavily on revenues. The firm continued to target the expanding markets of Africa and Latin America, spending $1.6bn (£1bn) of capital primarily on improving capacity to meet soaring demand in these regions. However, the strong dollar hit revenues in the Asia Pacific and Europe, which recorded declines of two and four per cent respectively.
In addition, sales of lager stalled, with growth remaining flat year on year despite the Chinese market returning to growth in the final quarter. One bright spot was soft drinks, where volumes expanded by eight per cent as the firm continued to benefit from its alliance with Coca-Cola.
Currency issues contributed to a one per cent decline in revenues to $22.1bn for the year ending 31 March, with pre-tax profits staying flat at $4.8bn on a like-for-like basis.