Sri Lanka: Ceylon Beverage Holdings reports Rs501 mln loss in June quarter because of floods

Sri Lanka's Ceylon Beverage Holdings, brewer for Lion and Carlsberg in Sri Lanka, lost Rs501 million in the June quarter as the floods disrupted production, interim accounts filed with the Colombo Stock Exchange showed.

Revenues fell 36 percent to Rs5.93 billion in the June 2016 quarter from a year earlier.

Sri Lanka experienced severe flooding in a low-lying area near the capital Colombo where the factory is located.

Production is expected to resume later this year.

Lion Brewery said its brands will be made in breweries owned by its partner Carlsberg group.

The government has reduced duty on the firm's imports to allow it to import and sell beer.

Sri Lanka's The Sunday Times newspaper said customs duty for beer with alcohol of less than 5 percent has been cut to Rs129 per litre from Rs500 and for beer with over 5 percent alcohol to Rs246 from Rs500.

The firm will also pay taxes such as port and airport levy.

The import levies paid by the firm is expected to be broadly the similar to the excise duties it would have paid on domestically produced beer.

15 August, 2016