Heineken in for the long haul, Mbumba assured

Heineken has assured President Nangolo Mbumba that the company remains committed to Namibia following its acquisition of Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) last year.

This is according to its CEO, Peter Simons, who briefed Mbumba on the company’s activities following the acquisition by the Dutch brewer.

“We are progressing really well; we are a proudly Namibian company and we will stay a proudly Namibian company, vested in the economy, listed on the [Namibian] Stock Exchange and we will stay listed,” Simons said on the sidelines of his meeting with Mbumba at State House on Wednesday.

Simons said Heineken is keen to grow NBL’s business and ensure it contributes to the Namibian economy, despite the change of ownership.

“Yes, there has been a change in shareholding. Heineken has been a shareholder since 2003, but NBL is NBL – it is an iconic company, and we will make sure it stays an iconic company in Namibia that we want to grow and grow in a sustainable way,” he said.

Cash flow

Despite a decline in beer sales of 13.7% due to challenging economic conditions, NBL’s net revenue increased by 15% to N$2.1 billion. This is because of the successful integration of the Distell portfolio, which performed well year-on-year and a price increase to cover inflation.

NBL has placed significant focus on cash management over the last six months. This came on the back of obtaining additional financing to acquire Distell, which placed a specific focus on effectively gearing NBL’s financial position and leveraging the expanded portfolio to optimise cash generation in the short-term. Net cash flow from operating activities increased to N$482 million from N$199 million the previous year.