Desnoes and Geddes producers of the world renown Red Stripe beer, is set to expand its export capabilities with the introduction of a new production line with the capacity to produce 40,000 bottles per hour and 26,000 cases of beer per day exclusively for its growing global markets, release from the company disclosed.
The new line will result in the brewery producing up to 1 million bottles of the Jamaican beer for the domestic and international markets. “Our 2020 Vision is a call to action to boost our target volume and we’ve invested close to US$18 million in this project. We firmly believe in the power of our brand and its appeal, so we are making a stronger push into international markets,” said Ricardo Nuncio, Managing Director, Desnoes and Geddes.
The company’s top export markets are the United States and Canada with two million and 700,000 cases in annual shipments, respectively the company stated. As at July 2017, there has been 15 percent growth in focus cities of Miami, Tampa, Orlando and Atlanta. Nuncio adds, “In early 2016, Red Stripe entered Australia, Dubai and Brazil and there’s robust brand building in those countries. We’re also moving to put down roots in Africa and Russia, following successful testing.”
The brewery’s new production line, referred to as ‘Line 8’, comes as the company adopted the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to power its operations. The brewer is now the first commercial company in Jamaica to be fully LNG-powered.
Nuncio explained that the addition of Line 8 dovetails with the company’s mission to streamline its operation throughout the supply chain. Nuncio noted, “The Red Stripe team is guided by the growing importance of sustainability and the need to lessen the adverse environmental impact of our operation. By using LNG, we welcome estimated savings of US$336,000 annually.”
Line 8 now frees up the existing production line to focus solely on domestic volumes. The new line is specially designed for one-way or new Red Stripe bottles, but it is also able to produce new Red Stripe Local and Dragon Stout in six-pack cartons. The project, which took 12 months to complete, involved infrastructure changes and extensive training for employees to achieve a greater level of efficiency.
D&G new production line to push exports
US$194m for minority D&G owners
Jamaican shareholders will make a windfall when Dutch based Heineken bids US$194 million for the remaining shares in the Red Stripe brewery company it now does not own.
It could result in the delisting of Desnoes & Geddes (D&G) similar to what occurred a few years earlier when Italian based Campari bought the bulk of shares in Lascelles deMercado from Trinidad based CL Group triggering a bid for the remaining shares.
Heineken earlier this week acquired nearly three-quarters of the shares in local based brewery from UK based Diageo in a deal spanning Jamaica, Malaysia and Singapore and Ghana totalling US$780.5 million.
“In accordance with the Jamaican Takeover Code, as a result of the acquisition of Diageo’s shareholding in D&G. Heineken will in due course make a mandatory offer for all shares of D&G not already owned by Heineken. If they acquire enough shares to give them 90 percent ownership, they intend to apply the mandatory offer to compulsory acquire the rest. The minority interest represents 26.7 per cent of the issued share capital of D&G, and implies a maximum total consideration of US$ 194 million. Further announcements regarding the mandatory offer will follow in due course,” stated Heineken in a release.
Desnoes and Geddes had a bid as high as $13 per share during trading today but the stock never traded and it ended with 2,744,725 units on the bid at $10.58. The stock last traded on Wednesday at $8 well below the offer price of almost J$31 for each share with the offer priced in US dollars.
Owners in Jamaica Stock Exchange will also be in on the fortunes of the deal as the exchange will end up collecting a nice payday when the local shares are transferred. Going forward the exchange will lose the annual listing fee and fees for trading the stock on the exchange.
Tax cut help boost D&G profit 30%
Desnoes & Geddes, brewers of the world famous Red Stripe beer, racked up a 30 percent increase in after tax profit, for the quarter to September this year, thanks partly to a reduction in tax, a 3 percent revenue increase and static to reducing cost. Profit before tax increased 14.5 percent to $640 million from $559 million in 2013. Revenues grew just 3 percent to $3.4 billion in the quarter but taxes fell from $192 million in the 2013 to $164 million as the tax rate for companies dropped to 25 percent form 30 percent for 2013.
Gross profit margin improved to 71.76 percent, in the latest quarter, from 69.25 percent last year. The improvement in the margin flowed in part from what management says are “efficiency gains from the investment in the brewery modernization such as the new combined heat and power plant.”
Gross profit improved by 14.7 percent to reach $1.156, as local sales grew 4.8 percent year over year, to reach $2.95 billion. Exports sales fell to $414 million from $465 million in 2013 leading to a fall in gross profit in the export segment to $226 from $291 million. Management stated that the reduction in exports is due to shift in the timing of a Shipment from the September quarter to the December quarter.
The company benefited from lower general, selling and administrative cost which fell to $261 million in the quarter, compared to $288 million in the 2013 quarter.
Cash funds at the end of the quarter, stood at $1.79 billion. The company declared a dividend of 27 cents per share, payable in December to cost $760 million and will be adequately funded by the earnings, for the December quarter. With the planned dividend, the company will pay 52 cents per share, in dividend for the 2014, providing a yield of just over 10 percent, based on the price of $5.10 at the end of 2013.
IC Insider is projecting earnings of 85 cents per share, for the year ending June 2015 and $1.05, for the following year. The stock which last sold at $4.95 remains an IC insider BUY RATED stock.
D&G increases dividend
Desnoes & Geddes will be paying an interim dividend of 27 cents per share on December 15, to shareholders on record at November 13.
The stock will trade ex-dividend on November 11. The company paid an interim dividend of 20 cents per share and a special dividend of 5 cents per share on December 20, last year.
They also paid interim dividend of 10 cents per share and a special dividend of 15 cents per share on May 16, 2014.
More directors’ buying of D&G shares
Desnoes and Geddes (DG) is undertaking lots of changes in it’s operation, that should help reduce cost and push up the bottom-line. Reduction in energy, partial switch from imported malt to the use of locally grown cassava, upgrading of the brewery to reduce operational cost and the eyeing of new markets, are all some of the things the brewing company is doing, that should transform its financial fortunes.
IC Insider’s forecast for the current year, is for profits to hit 90 cents per share and $1.20, the following year.
The directors have bought into the prospects of increased fortunes down the road for the company. Accordingly, D&G advised the Jamaica Stock Exchange that a Director purchased 2,270,000 of the company’s shares on October 9, 2014, on October 10, a director purchased 41,000 shares and on October 8 and 9, a director purchased a total of 251,147 shares.
Prior to these purchases directors also purchased 857,650 shares in September. On June 13, there was a sizeable purchase of 1,971,000 shares by a Director, with smaller amounts being bought between then and the September purchases.
More insider buying of D&G shares
Within less than a month of the release of Desnoes and Geddes full year results, to June, the company is reporting another purchase of shares by a director. The latest, is 3rd such inside purchase to have taken place, since the June results were released.
The latest acquisition is 507,650 shares on September 23. This comes on the heels of Desnoes and Geddes reporting strong full year results, with the promise of higher earnings, in the new fiscal year. The company previously reported the purchase 250,000 shares by a Director, on August 29, 2014 and 100,000 units, on September 1.
Profit up strongly at D&G, more expected
Desnoes & Geddes brewers of the world renowned Red Stripe Beer, reported impressive results for the year to June 2014, with pretax profit jumping 96 percent, including a gain on sale of shares, in two overseas breweries in the Caribbean. Excluding this one off gain, profit before tax would have been up by a still respectable 45 percent to $2.7 billion, instead of the $3.68 billion reported.
Profit after tax ended at $3.15 billion, but excluding the gain from the shares, it would have been $2.2 billion or 80 percent up, instead of the 160 percent increase the net result shows. Net profit benefited from a reduction in the tax rate from 30 percent in 2013 to 25 percent in 2014, in addition, other income that was negative in 2013 at $130 million, was a positive $232 million in 2014, a swing of $360 million. Profit before tax amounted $928 million for the June quarter versus just $371 million in June 2013 quarter and after tax credit, $1 billion, compared with only $161 million in 2013.
Gross profit margin improved slightly from 50.13 percent in 2013 to end at 50.38 in 2014. In 2012 gross profit margin was at 44.86 percent. The 2014 performance is still well off the 60 percent achieved in 2006. During the 2014 financial year staff cost was cut due to redundancies, from $2.25 billion in 2013 to $1.74 billion for 2014, a reduction of $500 million, in addition the company spent $311 million in making staff redundant in 2013. These two items resulted in more than $800 million cost reduction in 2014 versus 2013.
Revenue for the year climbed 10.6 percent to $14 billion and in the final quarter it grew by a stronger 17 percent, to $3.84 billion, from $3.3 billion in 2013. Foreign sales declined by 7 percent for the year to June, to end at $1.8 billion while local sales climbed 13.75 percent to $12.3 billion. The US market declined the most, falling from $566 million to $300 million. Royalties earned declined during the year to $525 million, from $556 million.
While earnings per share in the audited accounts is $1.12, earnings from ongoing operations is 77.6 cents for 2014. IC Insider forecast earnings of 90 cents per share for the current year ending June 2015, with the stock price under $5, the potential exists for investors to make a nice capital gain down the road and collect tidy dividend payments while they wait.
D&G has embarked on a brewery consolidation “project which will configure the brewery and process layout to ensure more cost effective production. By closing down the cellars and moving from horizontal to vertical processing vessels, we will reduce operating cost” management said in a report to shareholders. The company in April commissioned a combined heat and power plant which is expected to reduce energy cost.
At year end cash funds stood at $1.79 billion, current assets amounted to $4.6 billion and current liabilities at $2.6 billion, there were no loans on the books as of June.
The stock which was placed on the Buy Rated list months ago, remains there.
