Accra, Sept. 12, GNA - The Management of Ghana Breweries Limited (GBL), the leading beer market shareholders, said it would stick to a reasonably conservative dividend policy to ensure that sufficient money was ploughed back into the business to move it forward.

Mr Segun Adebanji, the Managing Director, said while the management would strive to meet shareholders' dividend expectations, it would at the same time not sacrifice the long-run viability of the company.

He was speaking at the facts behind the figures programme on the Ghana stock Exchange on Friday to inform stockbrokers and the public about the factors that had contributed to the company's improved performance.

GBL posted an impressive performance in the half-year ending June 30, with turnover growing by 59 per cent. The company, which hitherto had suffered losses due to consistent fall in the value of the cedi and huge payment of financial charges to its creditors, made a gross profit of 8.1 billion cedis as against 2.2 billion for the same period last year.

Mr Adebanji said after a successful capital restructuring programme, the company is adopting stringent financial control to ensure that the cash flow problems that plagued it in the past did not recur. The restructuring programme, which has the backing of shareholders, enabled the company to write off the deficit on its income surplus account through a reduction in the stated capital. It also involved the conversion of 10.7 billion cedis zero convertible bond into ordinary shares.

Heineken recently invested 12.5 million dollars in GBL to reduce the overdraft and medium-term loan position of the company as well as finance part of the capital expenditures needed to upgrade the production facilities.

As part of the measures, GBL will no longer borrow from the short end of the financial market to meet its long-term project obligations. The company will equally desist from borrowing in hard currency to curtail any exchange losses that might occur because of the volatility in the foreign exchange market.

Mr Adenbanji is upbeat about significant improvement in the company's performance this year, citing control over interest and reduced risk of exchange losses as main reasons for his optimism. Mr Clement Nouwens, GBL's Financial Director, said the decision by the Executive Board of Heineken NV Company, the company's majority shareholder, to re-capitalise GBL's operations had removed the exchange risks inherent in the Euro-denominated debts and also reduced the interest burden caused by high local borrowings.

Heineken in December last year made an injection of five million Euros as deposit against the purchase of shares. It further committed itself to converting 7.5 million Euros of inter-company debts, including 10.6 billion cedis zero coupon convertible bonds, into equity. Mr Nouwens said the Management would embark on a tight budgetary control to reduce cost, close leakage in the supply chain as well as introduce a staff bonus scheme as part of the company's strategy to reposition itself in the fierce competition in the beer market. Major Don Chebe (rtd), Corporate Affairs Manager of GBL, said the company was increasing the use of local inputs, especially maize in the manufacture of its products.

He said last year the company purchased 900 tons of maize valued at three billion cedis from farmers for use in the brewery. Mr Ekow Afedzi, General Manager of the Ghana Stock Exchange, said information flow is key to the success of the equities on the market. He said the facts behind the figures programme has succeeded in improving secondary marketing activities on the exchange, leading to positive changes in the prices of many equities.

Mr Afedzi said 64 million shares valued at 320 billion cedis were sold in the first six months of this year. 12 Sept. 03