2015 will be remembered for the wrath of the 50% excise duty on alcoholic beverages and the proliferation of smuggled castle lite prompting a change in strategy. Zambrew loves you. They gave you more beer for less albeit taking a haircut in revenue growth year on year. The stewardship of the company has been great leading it from impending doom in 2011 to a more stable company present day. The company continues to sweat its asset to the maximum however, return on investment has slumped in 2015 to 13% from its high of 19%. It’s labour force has continued to be more productive and the company is managing its debt very well with low gearing.
In my opinion, for the old investors in the company, the wait may be long to recover from the current macro headwinds. This is further frustrating as the company issued more shares as part of its financing strategy.
Product diversification may be key in the long term as well as further stakeholder management on the statutory requirements.
