SABMiller will release its fourth-quarter and full-year trading statement tomorrow (19 April). Here, just-drinks takes a look at the highs and lows for the brewer in the three months to the end of March.
- The year began with SABMiller updating its 11-year relationship in Africa with Castel. While SABMiller took full control of their combined operations in Nigeria and Castel went it alone in Angola, the two looked to introduce “a more precise methodology for the existing mutual pre-emptive rights” of their operations in Africa, excepting Namibia and South Africa. The move ended talk of SABMiller buying out Castel’s beer division.
- The company announced a new global chief brewer in February. Katherine Smart will take over from Barry Axcell in June.
- At the beginning of February, SABMiller discovered that recent acquisition Foster’s Group had lost the rights to Asahi. A change-of-control clause in Asahi’s contract was brought into play by the 2011 Foster’s buyout, allowing the Japanese company to switch distribution, sales and marketing for Asahi Super Dry to Independent Distillers in the country.
- A couple of weeks later, SABMiller’s European head took aim at mainstream brewers for “driving blandness”. Alan Clark said Europe’s leading producers were failing to make beer attractive to new consumers or as a premium drink.
- On 6 March, SABMiller completed its deal with Anadolu Efes, which saw it hand over its Russian beer operations in return for a 24% stake in the Turkish brewer. The deal had been announced in October and turned the new pairing into Russia’s second largest brewer by size, behind Carlsberg’s Baltic Beverages Holding.
- The quarter ended with more good news as SABMiller’s Ghana operations started full production on Chibuku opaque beer. SABMiller took full control of the Accra plant in 2010.