Zimbabwe: SABMiller’s Delta Corp. considers reducing beer prices after drop in revenue and volumes

Delta Corp Ltd., Zimbabwe’s biggest company by market capitalization, is considering whether to drop its beer prices after full-year revenue and volumes fell, Bloomberg reported on April 14.

The company, which is about 23 percent-owned by SABMiller Plc, will “review the competitiveness of its offerings,” Harare-based Delta said in an e-mailed statement on April 14. “Consumers continue to shift toward affordable brands.”

Revenue fell 7 percent in the year through March, while volumes of lager produced declined 8 percent, Delta said. Volumes of the company’s cheaper Chibuku sorghum beer gained 15 percent in the fourth quarter, cutting the full-year decline to 3 percent.

Delta is battling weak consumer spending in Zimbabwe amid a crisis that has seen the economy shrink by about half since 2000 and the economy experience deflation for 16 consecutive months. The company’s volume and revenue performance “largely mirrors the subdued economic activity,” Delta said.

14 April, 2016