SABMiller PLC- SABMiller plc September Trading Sta
SABMiller PLC- SABMiller plc September Trading Statement
JSEALPHA CODE : SAB
ISSUER CODE SOSAB
ISIN CODE GB0004835483
SABMiller plc September Trading Statement
London and Johannesburg, 29 September 2003. Prior to the announcement of its
interim results due in November, SABMiller plc has provided an update to the
trading statement made at the Company"s AGM on 30 July 2003.
Group financial performance in the five-month period to 31 August 2003 was
strong, with the European, South African and Africa and Asian businesses each
delivering good earnings growth. In North and Central America the performance of
our businesses has been in line with our previously announced expectations.
Organic volume growth in lager was almost 4% across the Group. In Europe,
organic volume was up 8% driven primarily by a strong performance in Russia and
higher sales in Czech compared to the same period in the prior year, when sales
were affected by the severe flooding. Satisfactory progress is being made with
integrating the recent Peroni acquisition into the Group.
The Africa and Asia business delivered a 3% increase in organic volume growth
over the prior year despite the negative impact of SARS in China and economic
turmoil in Zimbabwe. The East African restructuring initiatives have enhanced
the performance of our operation in this region.
In South Africa, beer volumes have continued to grow, and for the period to mid-
September were up by 2.5% on the prior year after adjusting for the timing of
Easter. Beer continues to gain share of the total liquor market at the expense
of wine and spirits.
In North America, Miller Brewing Company volumes trended lower for the period to
mid September, in line with expectations, being down some 4.5%. Further
restructuring initiatives were commenced during the period, which will assist
the cost base going forward.
Economic conditions in both Honduras and El Salvador remain subdued. Whilst beer
volumes have grown by almost 3%, competitive pressure in the carbonated soft
drink market continues to impact our Central American business, with volumes
down 8%. The focus has been on re-energising the CSD brand portfolio and
repositioning and re-launching our beer brands, whilst previous cost
rationalisation activities are yielding benefits.
Strong business performance assisted by favourable currency movements have led
to adjusted earnings per share for the Group showing a satisfactory increase
compared with the previous year.
Profile Group (Pty) Ltd. has taken care in preparing all information on this website, but does not accept any liability for errors or out-of-date information.
