East African Breweries has posted a pre-tax profit of 5.3 billion shillings for the six-month period ending 31st December 2006, KBC reported February 23.

The profit represents a 14 percent growth on 4.6 billion shillings posted for a similar period the previous year.

Group commercial director Chris Caldwell says the company has earmarked 1.4 billion shillings as interim dividends to its shareholders at a rate of 2 shillings and 15 cents.

The company increased earnings per share by 11 percent to 4.57 shillings.

EABL operates in three East African countries that contributed as follows to the pretax profits; Kenya 4.3 billion shillings, Uganda 600 million shillings and Tanzania 400 million shillings.

Speaking at a Nairobi hotel during the half-year results announcement, Caldwell said increased marketing campaigns; better mix of brands and a growth in beer volumes drove the increase in profitability.

This year, Caldwell said the company will further increase investments in marketing and improve distribution of spirits to increase their sales in addition to building a new bottling line in Kenya to boost its growth.

Local company Didi Puhi said it is building a new beer factory in its home town of Pleven, Northern Bulgaria, Dnevnik published February 23.

The brewery, located on a 0.18 ha plot in the Pleven industrial zone, should begin operation by mid-May.
The beer production will license Czech technology and will be based on Czech malts. Annual output is seen at 200,000 hectoliters.

Company owner Asparuh Lalev did not reveal the brand under which the output will be marketed. He said the brand will be regional and will not be distributed nation-wide.

The talk of possible resurrection of beer production in Pleven started 2 years ago when InBev, the world's biggest brewer by volume, shifted its regional operations from the local Plevensko Pivo brewery to production facilities in Southern Bulgaria.

Didi Puhi is a licensed grain trader and importer of malt products.

The International Grains Council (IGC) estimates the world barley crop at 139.1 million tonnes, unchanged from last year, but 15 million tonnes lower than the last good crop of two years ago, as per IGC’s latest report published at the end of January 2007.

World trade is forecast at 15.1 million tonnes versus 17.8 million tonnes a year ago. As per IGC the world's largest importer of feed barley, Saudi Arabia, will purchase only 5.5 million tonnes, which is disputed by the trade. Chinese malting barley imports are expected to be 1.7 million tonnes after 2.141 million tonnes in the calendar year of 2006.