D.B. profit improves

Press, 26 July 1980, Page 19

D.B. profit improves

PA Auckland Dominion Breweries, Ltd, sold 5.2 per cent less beer last year — in the face of I an industry downturn of just’ under 8 per cent. The chairman (Sir. Henry; Kelliher) says in his annual review that this was a fortunate result in the face of a prolonged industrial shutdown and sales tax increases. « He says that pricing ap-j proval received in May,! | coupled with increasing; sales, has improved brewery: profitability for the first’ quarter of the current year. Because of the increasing emphasis being placed on ithe take-home trade, the' company is proceeding with! all speed on the upgrading! and expansion of its bottle! store and wholesale outlets, j Several new hotel whole-; sales have opened, and’

l others are planned to open: shortly. ’ , The company also intends ’ ■ to introduce a low strength: ! beer soon in hoth draught Jand packaged form. This fol-; pows changes in the duty’; ’structure announced in the, Budget. It is also drawing up spec- j i ifications for a special type, ■ of beer, and packaging toj ■ test the possibility of in-! creased sales in the United ’States market. I Sir Henry say’s that esca-j plating interest rates on bor-: :rowed funds were a signifi-; ;:cant factor behind last year’s; profit downturn. ; Beer duty and sales tax. paid by the group reached dan unprecedented level of ! $55 million last year. Theyj pare expected to exceed $6O: jmillion in the current year. I This represented a stag■igering increase on the level I'paid in 1979, said Sir Henry,

,:and duty and tax paid on 'beer alone would reach an i; industry total of about $llO million, accounting for more than 50 per cent of the ■; wholesale price of a litre of draught beer. i, The accounts confirmed Ithe 8.5 per cent lower net ’profit of $6,532,796, achieved; .on sales 7.5 per cent higher I iat $196,478,121. 1 ' This was after depreciation $265,988 higher at I $4.595’19, and tax $486,910 | higher at $6,678,590. Ordinary dividend was un-' changed at 17 per cent, but’ I with the additional 3 per; I cent jubilee distribution it' required in total with the; peference shares dividend; ’ $676,043 more at $4,506,950. ' i The earning rate on capi-! tai was back from 30.2 per cent to 27.5 per cent and that on shareholders’ funds slipped from 7 per cent to 5.7 per cent.