OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday 10:15am
NATIONAL Sorghum Breweries (NSB), one of South Africa’s first black-owned companies, has for a first time in years shown a profit.
Jaishankar Ramchandran, a representative of the Indian industrial group, United Breweries (UB), NSB’s largest shareholder, said a reduction in overheads, increased productivity and capacity utilisation had resulted in NSB moving into the black. UB also has management control over NSB.
According to Ramchandran the future is looking bright for NSB. Not only has the company shown a profit, recently the Competition Commission ruled in favour of NSB buying SA Breweries Traditional Beer Investments. Currently NSB commands 70 percent of the sorghum beer market share in South Africa.
Ramchandran said that there are plans to list NSB once the company had established a sound profit, although in the interim the search is on for an empowerment partner.
The deal between NSB and UB represents the largest Indian investment commitment in South Africa. UB bought a 30 percent interest in NSB for R70m in November 1996.