Trophy Lager and Hero Lager, two of International Breweries Plc’s leading brands have both received Gold Quality Awards in the Beers, Waters and Soft Drinks category by the Monde Selection, 2019 edition.

The Monde Selection is an international body that evaluates, tests and awards a large number of consumer products with its unique quality label. It is one of the oldest quality institutes in the world and aims to deliver the most impartial and independent evaluation.

According to the award organizers, every year, 70 international experts are selected to taste test products from all over the world.

After which products that meet the quality standards set by Monde Selection are granted the Quality Award that certifies their quality.

For the 2019 awards, 2,948 products, including Trophy and Hero, from 90 countries were featured.

“International Breweries is committed to providing our customers and consumers the highest standard of quality alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages as spelled out in our food and safety policies. Clearly, this Monde Selection Gold Award is a testimony to the importance our business places on quality and the entire organization is indeed very proud of this feat,” said Ms. Tolulope Adedeji, Marketing Director, International Breweries.

“Trophy and Hero Lager are no strangers to the Monde Award, as they have claimed the Gold Quality spot three times and two times respectively and this current 2019 award makes it their fourth and third times. It is our commitment to excellence that has earned the brands this deserving recognition,” Adedeji added.

Speaking in the same vein, Supply Chain Director, International Breweries, Johan Gouws, reiterated that adherence to unswerving quality assurance processes and uncompromising commitment to excellence has earned Trophy and Hero lagers this commendable recognition.

“Monde Selection is a world wide selection, which confirms that the tastes of Trophy and Hero are world class. The award is granted based on after taste, odour, visual aspect, global judgment and packaging, which clearly reflects the commitment of the business in ensuring that the brand’s promise of an enjoyable, rich and crisp taste to consumers is entrenched in delivering quality product consistently,” Johan concluded.

As part of the celebration, brand ambassadors of Hero and Trophy visited the brewery sites of the company to congratulate the employees who contributed to these remarkable achievements.

While Trophy brand ambassadors, Folarin Falana popularly known as Falz the Bahd Guy and Nollywood actor, Femi Adebayo visited the Gateway and Ilesha breweries respectively, Hero brand ambassadors, Nollywood actor Nkem Owoh and rapper Owoh Chimaobi popularly known as Zoro each visited the Onitsha and Pabod breweries.

Launched into the Nigerian market in August 2012, Hero lager beer has won the hearts of consumers in the South & East region and has become a symbol of status and class.

The success of the brand draws from its strategic cultural resonance with the people who have christened Hero, ‘Oh Mpa’, in reverence and as a mark of respect (Mpa means father in Igbo language).

In 2018, Hero was knighted with a new crown cork -a red cork and the title of “Dike Mba Nile” by the Obi of Onitsha, His Royal Highness, Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Ugochukwu Achebe.

Trophy was launched in 1978 and it became the first brand to be launched in Nigeria by International Breweries. The beer was first introduced in the south-west region but has grown to be accepted in other parts of the country because of its distinctive taste, quality and absence of sugar.

Trophy beer is a market leader in its category.

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The Board of Directors of International Breweries Plc has appointed Tolulope Adedeji to its Board effective 18 September 2019.

In a statement released by the brewing company, it said that Ms Adedeji has extensive experience in building brands and businesses from scratch to market leadership.

She is currently the Marketing Director of International Breweries Plc where she leads the marketing teams in Nigeria and AB Inbev brands in Ghana. Some of the iconic brands under her leadership include Budweiser, Trophy, Hero, Club beer and Beta Malt.

Tolu started her career in Finance prior to joining Marketing and had served in various capacities through her over 15 years of work experience. She was first Brand and Commercial Leader and later Brand /Commercial Associate Director at Procter & Gamble in Nigeria and Ethiopia. She had led the startup of P&G brands in Ethiopia and had also qualified Head & Shoulders product launch for South Africa, Kenya and Uganda.

She worked on various brands such as Always, Pampers, Ariel, Gillette and Oral B in Nigeria and navigated these brands through a challenging macro-economic recession era.

Adedeji holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Babcock University, a Masters of Business Administration from Obafemi Awolowo University and a Master’s of Science in International Management from the University of Liverpool, UK. She is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (MCIM).

Tolu is passionate about growing businesses, Children Literacy, Female Empowerment and Youth Development. She established Mrsceonaija, a social enterprise for similar causes. She authored Smart Sindara, the adventure series- a fiction book centered on self-confidence, leadership and culture for African children. She is on the board of Caring friends foundation (NGO for children with special needs) and on the advisory board of Irede Foundation and more.

She replaces Mr Godwin Oche who recently resigned from the Board.

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International Breweries Plc (IB PLC) has notified the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) of its intention to seek a “Rights Issue” following a meeting of the company’s Board of Directors on 18th September 2019.

In a statement sent to the NSE on Wednesday, the company said that the “Board of Directors of International Breweries Plc at its Board meeting held on 18 September, 2019 considered and approved a proposal for a Rights Issue as a form of Capital Raising for the Company.”

A rights issue is an issue of shares offered at a special discounted price by a company to its existing shareholders in proportion to their holding of old shares.

International Breweries has seen its debt overhang grow as it mounts a challenge to break the dominance of the Nigerian beer market by Heineken controlled Nigerian Breweries Plc and Guinness Nigeria Plc, a subsidiary of Diageo Plc. While it has experienced strong revenue growth with the expansion of its capacity, the growth has come at a cost. The company recorded a net loss of N4bn in 2018 and the losses have continued into the first-half of 2019, recording N6.8bn in net loss.

According to a recent report by Nairametrics, a web-based financial resource and literacy company, “for every N100 in sales, it [IB PLC] spends N69 as direct cost. And out of the balance of N31, it spends another N15 on marketing and promotion, as well as N20 on operating expenses, leaving it with an operational loss.

“On paper, the company does not generate enough revenues to pay for its humongous N225 billion loans,” the report said.

IB Plc has not disclosed how much it is seeking to raise though it did say that “the Board approval of the aforementioned is however subject to Shareholders and Regulatory approvals in the prescribed form.”

International Breweries Plc is the Nigerian subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), the world’s largest brewer. Some of its brands include Hero Lager, Trophy Lager, Beta Malt, Grand Malt and Budweiser amongst others.

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International Breweries Plc, the Nigerian unit of global brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev has taken the message of responsible drinking to consumers, traders and the public as part of its commitment to responsible drinking in Nigeria.

The event is part of activities to commemorate Global Beer Responsible Day, an initiative started by its parent company AB InBev and celebrated across its operations worldwide as well as in contribution to the United Nations Goal 12 which is centered around Responsible Consumption and Production of alcohol.

The Global Beer Responsible Day is a day set aside every year, specifically on September 13, to promote responsible consumption of alcohol. The theme for this year’s edition, “Drink Smart Today, Celebrate Tomorrow – Let’s Champion Smart Drinking Together” encourages consumers, bar owners and the public to make personal commitments around responsible drinking.

As part of this year’s Global Beer Responsible Day commemoration, the company re-enforced its strong commitment to reduce harmful use of alcohol by educating consumers on the dangers of drinking and driving; marketing its products responsibly; and discouraging underage drinking and consumption of alcohol by pregnant women.

Consumers were also advised to pace their alcoholic drinks to not more than one drink per hour, eat food before or while drinking alcohol, alternate alcoholic drinks with non-alcoholic beverages while drinking, avoid drinking and driving, and encourage others to not drink and drive.

L-R Director, Route to Market, Sandro De Assis, Global Management Trainee, Dubem Orji and Managing Director, Annabelle Degroot all of International Breweries Plc during the commemoration of the Global Beer Responsible Day by the company in Lagos.

In his words, Otunba Michael Daramola, Legal and Corporate Affairs Director, said, “Responsible drinking is one of the key pillars of our business. It is a message that is dear to us and we constantly make out time to communicate this message in our sphere of influence. The turnout of our employees was great and we visited a lot of bars in many communities where we operate to interact with consumers, traders and the general public on the best way to consume alcohol responsibly”.

This year’s commemoration coincided with the company’s efforts under the auspices of the Beer Sectoral Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) to reduce underage drinking. The Beer Sectoral Group to which International Breweries belongs has collaborated with the Collingwood Learning Incorporated and Thespian Theatre to launch an underage drinking intervention program tagged Smashed.

Smashed global initiative is a theatre-in-education program aimed at breaking the culture of underage drinking and reducing alcohol related harm among youths. Smashed program instructs young people on the dangers of underage drinking.

According to Annabelle Degroot, Managing Director, International Breweries, “We are always taking steps to shift social norms and behaviors around harmful use of alcohol and ensure every experience with beer is a positive one. We’re committed to helping advance the World Health Organization’s target to reduce the harmful use of alcohol by 10% by 2025. Simultaneously, we aim to contribute to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals of strengthening the prevention and treatment of harmful alcohol use. “Initiatives like the Global Beer Responsible Day and the Smashed Initiative are complementary projects which we think will do our society a lot of good in this regard” She added.

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International Breweries Plc announced on Thursday that its shareholders at an Extra-Ordinary General Meeting (AGM) held on Tuesday, 15th October 2019 approved the ‘Rights Issue’ as proposed by the Board of Directors.

Following the shareholders’ approval, the Board of Directors convened and proposed a Rights Issue price of N9 per share.

In a statement released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday, the company said: “International Breweries Plc (“International Breweries” or “the Company”) hereby notifies The Nigerian Stock Exchange that the Shareholders of the Company at the General Meeting held on 15 October, 2019 approved the Rights Issue as proposed by the Board of Directors and authorized the Board to take all steps required to give effect to the Resolutions as approved.

“Following this approval, the Board of Directors discussed the forthcoming Rights Issue and the proposed terms thereof and approved a Rights Issue price of N9.00 per share,” the statement further read.

The company said that further details on the Rights Issue will be provided in due course.

International Breweries first notified the NSE of its intention to seek a “Rights issue” on 19th September 2019 following a meeting of the company’s Board of Directors on 18th September. The company said that it considered and approved a proposal for a Rights Issue as a form of Capital Raising for the Company.

A rights issue is an issue of shares offered at a special discounted price by a company to its existing shareholders in proportion to their holding of old shares.

International Breweries is seeking to use the Rights Issue to pay down mountain debt it accumulated in the process of expanding its operational capacity. It completed the construction of a new brewery in Sagamu, Ogun State in 2018 at an initial cost of US$250m, with the company indicating that the final cost could reach US$400m.

While the company has seen its revenue grow, the effort has come at a cost. Cost of sales have risen, and so has administrative expenses.  The company posted a net loss of N4bn in 2018 and the losses have continued into the first half of 2019, recording N6.8bn in a net loss as of 30th June 2019.

International Breweries Plc is the Nigerian subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), the world’s largest brewer. Some of its brands include Hero Lager, Trophy Lager, Beta Malt, Grand Malt and Budweiser amongst others.

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International Breweries Plc, the AB InBev subsidiary in Nigeria has restated its commitment to serve Nigerians quality beverages from the world-class breweries it owns in – Ilesha, Osun State, Gateway in Ogun State, Port Harcourt, in Rivers State and Onitsha, in Anambra State.

The company’s Legal and Corporate Affairs Director, Michael Daramola, gave the assurance while on a tour of its Gateway Brewery marking its one-year anniversary.

Also in attendance at the factory tour were officials from the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), journalists, as well as representatives of the Ogun State government and the Nigerian Climate Innovation Centre.

Daramola said that the factory tour was part of the activities to mark the first year anniversary of the commissioning of the Gateway Brewery, the largest brewery in sub-Saharan Africa, adding that it was also an opportunity to showcase Gateway Brewery’s quality assurance processes, which ensures both the quality of products that get to consumers and the safety of its employees, contractors, partners on-site and its host communities.

He revealed that the Gateway factory was built with environmental protection in mind in line with the requirements of its Group 2025 Sustainability Goals which focuses on climate actions, circular packaging, water stewardship and smart agriculture.

“We remain committed to adhering to the highest quality assurance processes to ensure we consistently produce international standard products. We continue to invest heavily in our people and we have some of the best and committed talents to drive these processes,” he said.

“The Gateway Brewery is built on sustainability practices in order to minimise negative impact on the environment. These actions help the plant to contribute to a better world by significantly reducing its carbon emissions, other greenhouse gasses and air pollutants and NOX.”

Some of the eco-friendly practices, according to him, include the use of bio-gas from its by-products as well as liquified natural gas to power its boilers; LNG conversion from liquid to gas for plant utilization.

Its usage of renewable energy through its 150kWp Grid Tied Solar Power System (first phase) that supplies part of the plant’s electricity that is used for lightings; strict adherence to 100 percent waste segregation, effluent treatments, recycling of its bottles and by-product recycling; among others.

Photo from the event

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Brewers in the country have called on the Federal Government to review its position on the excise duty increase that took effect in June 2018 as it is severely impacting their operations.

As quarterly results trickle in, one complaint has remained constant, the impact of the new excise duty on revenue and profits.

The new excise duty which came into effect on 4th June, 2018 to help boost the federal government coffers imposed an excise duty on beer and stout at .30 kobo per centilitre in 2018 and .35 kobo per cl each in 2019 and 2020. This translates to N30 per litre of beer in 2018 and N35 per litre in 2019 and 2020 respectively.

According to a recent report by the Nigerian Guardian Newspaper, Nigerian Breweries Plc paid N34bn in the last nine months (N25.8bn in 2018 and N8.1bn in Q1, 2019); International Breweries Plc paid, N1.53b as at September 2018; Champion Breweries, N311.3m as at December 2018; while Guinness Nigeria Plc has not revealed how much it paid, though the brewer lamented the impact of excise duty on its recently released Q1 results ending in September.

International Breweries Plc, the Nigerian subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev set aside $18m for excise duty in 2018.

The Director, Legal and Corporate Affairs, International Breweries Plc, Michael Daramola, lamented that the new excise duty is killing the brewery industry.

He added that the country’s current economic situation does not support such increase.

Daramola who spoke to journalist during a recent tour of the company’s Gateway Brewery in Sagamu, Ogun State, decried that the increase of excise duty rates on alcohol beverages and tobacco is stifling the growth of the brewery industry in the country.

The Federal government last year increased the excise duty rates on alcoholic beverages and tobacco by 60 percent.

The Corporate Affairs Director said that some of the breweries in the country could not pass-off the cost to consumers due to the weak economy and the consumer that is already financially stressed.

“We fought against the government’s increment of excise duty but somewhere along the line, the government still went ahead to increase it.

“Excise is a tax that you pass on to the consumers; it is not an absorbable tax. But in the present economic situation of the country, we cannot pass that tax on to the consumers because the purse of the consumers is very lean and people are very price-sensitive, a slight change in price might make them reject the product.

“So we had to absorb the tax and that has really eaten into our bottom line. If you see the results of most of the breweries this year, you will found out that it has eaten far, far into it.”

“Our contention is this, what we are using to absorb that tax is what we should have used to do other things. We should use it to increase our capacity and employ more people but with the increment, we cannot do this, we have to hold on to our present capacity.”

He added that operators are still in discussion with the government because they learnt about moves to further increase the duty.

“Yes, we know that the government needs revenue but the way to increase revenue is growing. Increase the growth of the economy. When the economy is growing, you can increase the revenue but once you overcharge the people and stifle growth, you cannot have the desired result.

“But if there is growth in the economy, if people are setting up companies, then you will be taking your taxes easily”, he noted.

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International Breweries Plc on Monday reported yet another dismal result for the nine months to the end of September.

The brewing company posted a staggering N16.4bn in net loss for the periods of January through September ending, a 130% increase from last year when it incurred a net loss of N7.1bn. The firm recorded N9.6bn of its losses in the third quarter, a 124% increase from the previous year.

This is despite posting a 17% increase in sales in the nine months to N97.2bn. The growth, however, slowed down in the third quarter with a 5.5% decline in sales.

IB Plc blamed the losses on rising costs, new excise duty on alcohol and stiff competition. Administrative expenses shot-up by 60% in the nine months to N19.5bn from N12.2bn. The widening losses are linked to its growth momentum as the company expands capacity to meet customer demands.

A 46% rise in finance cost to N13.1bn also added to the company’s woes, with the costs accelerating in the third quarter by N6.1bn.

Stiff competition between beer rivals, Nigerian Breweries Plc and Guinness Nigeria Plc is also having an impact on overall sales.

The company announced in September it was seeking to raise funds through a ‘Rights Issue’ and in October, its shareholders approved an offer price of N9.00 per share as proposed by its board following an extra-ordinary general meeting. The company said that further details on the Rights Issue will be provided in due course.

International Breweries Plc is the Nigerian unit of global brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev). The company produces several popular beer brands in the Nigerian market including Hero Lager, Trophy Lager, Beta Malt, Grand Malt and Budweiser amongst others.

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International Breweries Plc said it plans to raise N165bn ($457.7m) in a share sale as it seeks to pay down mountain debt and reverse losses.

According to a Friday report by Bloomberg, current shareholders of the company may get share offers in November if the company gets clearance from Nigerian regulators, the company said in an email presentation on Thursday.

The company’s losses hit N16.4bn in the nine months through the end of September, from N7bn in the previous year, primarily driven by high finance cost.

“Financing cost pressures will continue as we work towards closing out the rights issue by year-end,” the company said.

The company revealed that its revenue has been impacted by a new phased excise duty increase on alcohol (beer, wines and spirits) which came into effect in June 2018.

International Breweries Plc is the Nigerian unit of global brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev.

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Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) is said to have committed to investing more than N123bn in its Nigerian operation.

According to a report by the Nations’ Newspaper, sources at the weekend said AB InBev was in support of the rights issue planned by International Breweries Plc, its Nigerian subsidiary and had committed to participating fully in the new capital raising exercise.

The capital raising comes on the heels of growing debt at the brewing company as it seeks to grow its presence in the Nigerian beer market and take market share from its rivals, Nigerian Breweries Plc and Guinness Nigeria Plc. The company recorded a net loss of N4bn in fiscal year 2018 and the losses have continued into the first-nine months of 2019, recording N16.4bn in net loss.

According to the report, International Breweries will raise N164.39 billion through a rights issue of 18.266 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N9 per share which will be pre-allotted on the basis of 17 new ordinary shares of 50 kobo each for every eight ordinary shares of 50 kobo each held as at the close of business on November 6, 2019. With the rights’ ratio, about 13.72 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each will be pre-allotted to AB Inbev.

International Breweries has filed for final regulatory approvals for the new capital raising, after shareholders approved the recapitalisation exercise.

AB InBev holds 75.1% equity stake in International Breweries, with the Anambra State Government holding a 4.7% stake, while the remaining 20.2% equity stake is held by other minority shareholders.

International Breweries’ brands include Hero Lager, Trophy Lager, Beta Malt, Grand Malt and Budweiser amongst others.

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Budweiser, a premium brand of International Breweries Plc, a proud member of the AB InBev family has concluded plans to sponsor top-performing sales staff and distributors to watch select European Premier League matches as a way of rewarding and appreciating them for their hard work and commitment.

The company is rewarding a total of 54 persons for their performance in the recent financial year and to encourage them to do better.

Speaking on the company’s plans, Marketing Director, International Breweries Plc, Mrs. Tolulope Adedeji, said that this move is one of the company’s ways of celebrating its distributors and employees as critical stakeholders of the organisation’s sales and distribution value chain having added value and contributed immensely to the business over the years.

“We are very pleased with our distributors and sales team who have put in the effort and endless contributions towards ensuring the success of the business. As proud sponsors of both English Premier League and Spanish LaLiga, we decided to express our gratitude by giving outstanding sales staff and distributors an exciting experience that comes with watching EPL matches live at the stadiums. It promises to be a fun, unforgettable and exciting ride,” Adedeji said.

Since Budweiser announced the signing of a multi-year deal with English Premier League and LaLiga in July, the King of Beers has continued to be one of the most visible brands in sports sponsorship. The brand has showcased its uniqueness at creating relevant, grand and memorable experiences with exciting, fun-packed viewing parties that not only bring fans of the sport together but promote conviviality and provide an avenue for them to watch these matches with their favourite celebrities.

“As an organisation, International Breweries is delighted to make this trip happen for our partners who have shown dedication and hard work towards this business relationship. We encourage our distributors and employees to sustain the momentum that has led them here,” Adedeji added.

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Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has lauded International Breweries Foundation, the social investment vehicle of International Breweries Plc, for awarding grants of over N73 million to 90 deserving young entrepreneurs through its Kickstart initiative. The landmark award ceremony took place on Thursday, 28 November 2019, at the Edmark Centre in Lagos.

The vice president, who was represented by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr Festus Keyamo, said the Kickstart initiative is a very commendable one that can be replicated by other private sector players to augment government’s empowerment programmes to help reduce unemployment and empower Nigerians economically. According to the vice president, government can take key learnings from the way Kickstart is structured, which ensures the integrity of the programme.

Delivering his address at the event, Professor Osinbajo said, “The very thorough process by which Kickstart selects its heroes, beneficiaries, the training, the boot camp, and mentorship are all very commendable and it is something we as government can learn from when we open it up to genuine beneficiaries”.

Kickstart was conceptualised to empower young Nigerians, 18-35 years, and help reduce unemployment while promoting decent work and economic growth in line with Goal 8 of the UNSDGs. It is an innovative youth entrepreneurship programme that empowers young people with finance, capacity building and mentorship to enable them to implement diverse entrepreneurial ventures in Agriculture, Recycling, Climate Actions, Education, ICT, Crafts and Manufacturing among others.

In his speech, Chairman of the Advisory Board of International Breweries Foundation, Mr Peter Bamkole, said, “Indeed, we envision the initiative as the nursery of innovation in business, where we plant, nurture and transfer by way of training, granting and mentoring. We are optimistic that every successful beneficiary will pull others out of unemployment because every job they create will take about three other people out of the job market.”

Bamkole said the 2019 Kickstart, which was pan-Nigeria, has revealed the hunger for a national programme as applications were received from all 36 states and the FCT. He added that the acceptance “has reinforced our belief in the potential of Kickstart to impact and influence the youth population in the country.”

In his presentation, entitled Harnessing the Potential of the Youth for National Development through Innovation, Employability and Social Investment, Professor Kingsley Moghalu, while commending International Breweries for such an impactful initiative as Kickstart, noted that indeed the nation must begin to invest in its youth in the areas of education, skills acquisition, vocational training, as well as encouraging science and technology if the country must achieve sustainable growth and development. Moghalu further recommended that “we can replicate the Kickstart programme on a very large basis, we can work with the private sector in doing that”.

The beneficiaries were effusive in their praise of the Kickstart initiative. They particularly commended the integrity of the programme in picking candidates based on merit, the impactful training in the boot camp, the one-year mentorship, and most importantly the grant.

According to a beneficiary Aishatu Adekoya, who is into snail farming, “My Kickstart journey has been amazing and interesting. The training was intense and the coaches were amazing. I want to assure that I will use this grant to grow my business. I say a big thank you to Kickstart and thank you to International Breweries Foundation.”

According to IB Plc, Kickstart started with the application phase in June 2019 and progressed to the boot camp phase where 227 entrepreneurs were trained on the key aspects of business management. A total of 167 made it to the Pitch Fest, the penultimate phase of the project wherein the entrepreneurs defended their business plans to an independent panel of judges.

The final 90 awardees had their businesses awarded the grants because they met the set criteria, including business maturity, the experience of the applicant to run the business, the financial statement of the business and overall business concept. The event witnessed the launch of the Kickstart alumni group, a platform where beneficiaries from the 2016 set can exchange ideas and information on business trends and developments as well as cross-sell among themselves.

Kickstart 2019 edition is the fourth in the series and brings the total number of direct beneficiaries to 708; 1,416 indirect beneficiaries’ while the total amount of grants so far awarded to beneficiaries since 2016 is N325,136m.

The company revealed that while the total grants given out during the awards is N73, 836,000, in reality, it is spending over N150, 000,000 if it includes the cost of training, mentoring and the Trophy Academy which it plans to build in its Gateway brewery. This will be a training school for skills acquisition for young Nigerians in the different fields of entrepreneurship. IBPLC also said the kickstart initiative has generated 571 jobs while total jobs generated are expected to increase to 1,392 by 2021.

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International Breweries Plc, the Nigerian unit of global brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev has announced the resignation of its Managing Director, Annabelle Degroot and Finance Director Mr Zuber Momoniat effective 31 December 2019.

In a statement released by the company, it said that Degroot will be moving into a new role in Europe within the AB InBev Group.

The statement further said that “Degroot played an integral part in the restructuring and transformational changes witnessed by the Company which earned the Company the No. 2 position in the Nigerian brewing industry.”

Degroot was the Managing Director of Zambian Breweries Plc under SABMiller Brewing Co prior to its merger with AB InBev and before taking up the new role of MD at Int’l Breweries.

She will be replaced by Mr Hugo Dias Rocha, who has been with AB InBev for 24 years and has worked in different leadership roles within the Sales, Process Integration and Human Resources functions in various countries including Brazil, Dominican Republic, China, Colombia, Argentina and South Africa.

Rocha holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the Sao Paulo Business School, Brazil, and a Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Federal University, Paraisa, Brazil.

Also named to the Finance Director position to replace Momoniat is Mr. Bruno Sambrano Arana. According to the company, Arana holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Mccombs School of Business – Austin, Texas; Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Texas at Arlington – Arlington, Texas.

“Mr Arana comes with tremendous experience in all financial aspects from the AB InBev’s businesses in Latin America, East Africa and South Africa,” the company said.

It added that “The Board is confident that these new appointments will ensure continuity, boost the overall strategy of the Company towards profitability for all stakeholders.”

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International Breweries Plc (“IB PLC”) announced on Sunday that its N165bn rights issue will close on Tuesday 24th December 2019.

In a statement from the brewing company, it said that it has received the express approval from its shareholders and relevant agencies of government including the Security and Exchange Commission.

The application list for its rights issue was first launched on 5th December 2019. The exercise will see Anheuser-Busch InBev, the majority shareholder in IB Plc invest an additional N124bn ($341m) in the Nigerian subsidiary.

The statement said that IB Plc was offering 18,266,206,614 units of ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N9 per share.

According to the statement, for every eight shares held by shareholders whose names appear in the register of members of the company as of November 6, 2019, an offer of 17 ordinary shares is made.

“Through the rights issue, the company’s capital structure is expected to be remarkably changed as long-term debt is replaced with equity, thereby easing the burden of interest payments, increasing management’s flexibility as well as removing volatility in earnings, the company said in the statement signed by its Company Secretary/Legal Counsel, Muyiwa Ayojimi.

The capital raising comes on the heels of growing debt at the brewing company as it seeks to grow its presence in the Nigerian beer market and take market share from its rivals, Nigerian Breweries Plc and Guinness Nigeria Plc. The company recorded a net loss of N4bn in fiscal year 2018 and the losses have continued into the first nine months of 2019, recording N16.4bn in net loss.

“This offer, which is currently the largest rights issue in Nigeria, is to have its full impact reflected in 2020 while presenting a positive outlook for dividends for shareholders in 2021.”

The company said with a fair post rights issue valuation range of N471bn to N504bn, the rights issue was most likely to become the seventh most capitalised company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

It added that the parent company, ABInBev, by the rights issue, had a long-term outlook for Nigeria.

“ABInBev has invested in capacity expansion, about N90bn ($250m) in the Sagamu plant and will be injecting N124bn ($341m) via the rights issue,” the statement added.

AB InBev holds the majority equity stake of 75.1% in International Breweries Plc. With the pre-allotment ratio, about 13.72 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each have been pre-allotted to AB Inbev.

International Breweries Plc has emerged as the number two brewer in Nigeria, with control of 25% of the beer market despite challenging market conditions, including weak macroeconomics, higher excise tax regime and a competitive environment.

According to the statement, the new capacity stream and ramped up investments in route to market, will enable the firm to consolidate on its leadership and continue to take market share.

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International Breweries Plc (IB Plc) has announced the listing of additional 18.266bn ordinary shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

The additional shares are from its recent rights issue of 18.266bn Ordinary Shares of 50 kobo each at N9 per share.

With the new listing, the company’s total issued and fully paid-up shares has now increased from 8.595bn to 26.862bn ordinary shares of 50 kobo each. This translates to N164.39bn in market capitalization.

The brewing company first announced the rights issue in September 2019 as a way to reduce mountain debt which was impacting its performance. According to the company, with the rights issue, long-term debt will be replaced with equity, thereby easing the burden of interest payments, increasing management’s flexibility as well as removing volatility in earnings.

International Breweries Plc is the Nigerian subsidiary of global brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev).

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International Breweries Plc posted yet another loss for the last quarter of the year.

The brewing company which is a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) posted a net loss of N9.2bn in Q4 2019, bringing its total losses for the year to N25.6bn. In the same period in 2018, the company’s total loss was N4bn.

The company blamed its losses on rising costs, the new excise duty on alcohol as well as stiff competition in the brewing industry.

According to the company, sales declined by 6% in the quarter to N35bn from N37.2bn

Administrative expenses jumped 125% to N8.3bn, while marketing & promotional expenses rose by 44% to N6bn.

Net finance cost grew by 33% to N9.2bn, adding to the company’s woes.

International Breweries announced in September it would initiate a rights issue to pare down mountain debt, with the objective to replace long-term debt with equity, thereby easing the burden of interest payments, increasing management’s flexibility as well as removing volatility in earnings.

International Breweries’ brands include Hero Lager, Trophy Lager, Beta Malt, Grand Malt and Budweiser amongst others.

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