GBL Pays ?75bn To State

GHANA BREWERIES Limited (GBL) last year paid ?75 billion in Value Added Tax (VAT) and excise duties to the state, Mr. Martin Eson-Benjamin, chairman of the GBL board, stated at the company's annual general meeting held in Kumasi last weekend.

The company also discharged a number of beneficial social responsibility obligations in the special areas of water conservation, environmental protection, education and healthcare.

This was against the background of a year in which GBL faced setbacks leading to a net loss of ?10.6 billion as compared to ?3.5 billion in 2000.

Esson-Benjamin named the setbacks as the impact of external pressures, the effects of lower volume sales, lower profit margins, higher bank borrowing and increases in utility tariffs.

The company's financial highlights for the year were stated as a turnover of ?109 billion as compared to ?89 billion in 2000; operating profit before forex losses of ?2.9 billion as compared to ?6.9 billion in 2000; and an operating margin of 2.6 per cent as against 8 per cent the previous year.

Eson-Benjamin announced that GBL has appointed a Company Medical Advisor and has begun a pro-active HIV/AIDS communication programme involving peer educators at all levels of the company.

He also announced that Messrs. C. J. G. Nouvens and Wilson Kusi-Atansah had joined the board, replacing Messrs F. S. O. Koranteng and Ernest Thompson.

Eson-Benjamin was appointed GBL Board Chairman in 2001 when Mr. Ishmael Yamson relinquished his position as board chairman after taking on additional responsibilities as chairman of Unilever's West African Executive Committee.

Mr. Segun Adebanji has since been appointed Chief Executive officer of GBL.