Kenya's East African Breweries Limited (EABL) has said its profit after tax for the year ending June is likely to decline by 25% compared to the previous period, hurt by the coronavirus pandemic.
"The COVID-19 global pandemic and the subsequent response measures taken across the region have impacted our business negatively," the company said in a statement published on Saturday.
It added that its "current performance forecast indicates a decline in profit after tax of approximately 25% for the financial year ending 30th June 2020 versus prior year".
EABL, which is controlled by British drinks group Diageo, is the biggest alcoholic beverages company in Kenya. Its competitors include Heineken and smaller, home-grown companies such as Keroche Breweries.
The company reported 11.52 billion shillings ($107.66 million) in profit after tax for the year ended June 2019.
EABL also operates in neighbouring Uganda and Tanzania.
($1 = 107.0000 Kenyan shillings)
(Reporting by George Obulutsa, writing by Elias Biryabarema; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
