Botswana: Kgalagadi Breweries and Botswana Breweries contributed BWP1.4 million to Kgalagadi Beverage Trust

Kgalagadi Breweries Limited (KBL) and Botswana Breweries Limited (BBL) this year contributed P1.464 million to the Kgalagadi Beverages Trust (KBT), which went to the Kickstart project and road safety initiatives, The Reporter (Gaborone) posted November 02.

The amount constitutes 0.6 percent of the group's after tax profit.

"We believe that to grow and be self-sustaining, we have a responsibility to share our success with all Botswana," Sechaba Brewery Holdings Limited, an investment holding company with interests in KBL and BBL said in its 2006 annual report.

In the past 20 years, KBT has committed in excess of BWP30 million to numerous projects intended to uplift and enhance the lives of local communities.

The company said it favours projects with a strong human development component and that the Trust has focused support on HIV/AIDS, life skills, environmental conservation, entrepreneurship, responsible drinking initiatives, road safety, social welfare and disaster relief.

"In line with government's attempts to create sustainable employment and diversify the economy, the Trust has in the past two years given particular attention to the entrepreneurial development among the country's youth," it said.

The Kickstart project seeks to create a culture of entrepreneurship among youth aged between 18 and 30 by helping them with funds to start and run their own businesses.

It is reserved for Botswana youth with viable business ideas that can create employment, generate income and help diversify the economy. The Trust's reserves now stand at BWP2 million.

Meanwhile the company reported a loss in profits for the financial year March 2005 to March 2006, blamed on the country's difficult trading environment and last year's 12 percent devaluation of the national currency.

The company's net profit fell 8.8 percent with sales amounting to BWP920.4 million by March 2006, down from P976.5 million in the same period in 2005.

Net profit attributable to shareholders was also down by 7 percent. Earnings per share decreased by BWP7.0 to BWP92.3.

"Regrettably the effects of the national currency devaluation at the end of May 2005 continued to feed customer inflation throughout the year, weakening consumer spending power," said the chairman of the company's Board of Directors, Edward Komanyane.

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