Delta splurges US$3m | Business Times

LIVINGSTONE MARUFU

 

Zimbabwe’s largest brewer, Delta Corporation Limited, has spent US$3m  on water in the six months  leading to September this year  in order to produce beverages as the Harare City Council  has been limiting access to the valuable  liquid  for corporations  and individuals.

The company’s CEO, Matts Valela told Business Times that producing  beverages requires a significant amount of water.

“The city council sometimes cuts water and therefore we had to spend approximately  US$500 000 per month (which translates to US$3m in six months) on water to ensure that it is always available. As beverages we are selling water  as we use two to three litres of water per one litre beverage depending on the brand.

“In order to produce beverages we need a great deal of water therefore we need an uninterrupted supply to complete all the relevant processes,” Valela said.

He added: “On our part, we have installed storage  tanks and  reservoirs to ensure that we have a two to three days cover for  our operations.We have several reservoirs  to ensure we have an uninterrupted supply of the precious liquid.

“We complement what the local authorities are doing. We are hopeful that the government has gone out to build dams to  improve water supply. What we are trying to do is to get direct lines from the city reservoirs,” he said.

In its financial results for the six months to September 30, 2023, Delta Corporation Limited reported a 164%  increase in revenue  to ZWL$1.9 trillion  from ZWL$728.91bn achieved in the prior comparative period.

The increase was attributed to  strong volume growth across all business units.

According to Valela, the company’s US$70m capacity investment in the Chibuku Super Plant and packing line, PET packaging line, and lager beer glass packaging line is what caused the significant volume growth.

The investments made by the company allowed it to double its production capacities across all units.

“The spike in revenue reflects the volume growth across business units and the increased proportion of foreign currency sales to over 80%. There was an increase in the proportion of domestic transactions settled in foreign currency,”  he said.

Profit for Delta Corporations  surged 420% to ZWL$338.78bn in the period under review from ZWL$65.17bn reported in the prior comparative period as a result of rate tracking prices and high volumes.

 

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