DDL sales soared during COVID-19 pandemic

Apr 14, 2021 News

…now aims to cash in on promised oil boom

Kaieteur News – The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic devastated economies of scale across the world this past year and while Guyana’s non-oil economy declined by a negative 7.3 percent, local brewery giant, Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), has seen its business increasing by some 10 percent, with a group turnover of some G$24.7B.

DDL Chairman, Komal Samaroo

The company in 2019 had seen an annual turnover of G$22.83B, representing an increase in business of some G$2.3B for 2020.
This is according to DDL Chairman, Komal Samaroo, in his report on the company’s financial performance during 2020—the first full year of the pandemic.
In fact, profits for the DDL group in the year was reported at G$5.2B last year, when compared with the company’s performance in 2019, which had seen profits netting some G$4.5B.
According to Samaroo, this represents an increase of some $662M in profits over the previous year by 14.5 percent.
Samaroo, in his report for shareholders in the company’s 2020 Annual Report also indicated that COVID-19 had a severely negative impact on the export of branded products in the Caribbean where the revenue declined by some 33.5 percent.
This however, contrasts against “the improvements in the North America and Europe (which) compensated for that shortfall, resulting in the Group ending the year with overall export of branded products at approximately the same level as the previous year.”
According to Samaroo, the turnover of bulk exports in the year, exceed that of the previous year by 10 percent,” and “compared to 2019, turnover in the domestic market increased overall by 11 percent in 2020.”
It was noted that while the company’s profit before tax was $5.2B, the group’s profit after taxation was G$3.9B—a $408M increase over the previous year.
Earnings per share were also increased in 2020 to $5.06 compared to $4.53 the previous year.
Shareholder equity in DDL at the end of the year, according to Samaroo, rose to a G$32B stake, a 14 percent increase of $4.2B over the previous year.
An interim dividends payout, he reported, was paid at the end of December 2020 and that the Directors will have to approve the final payments to be had at the Annual General Meeting next week Friday, April 23.
2020 Expenditure
Samaroo in his report has since noted that with some $4.8B in net cash generated this past year, the Group was able to plug some $2.1B into capital investments.
As such, he reported that the TOPCO Fruit Processing and Packaging Plant “was one of the main capital projects for the group in 2020.”
He noted however, that the global implementation of measures to prevent the spread of CIVOD-19 resulted in substantial delays in completing the project within the targeted schedule.
Additionally, he said, the Group in 2020 also undertook the rehabilitation and upgrade of the bio-methanisation plant, which accounted another $215 million in expenditure.
Looking ahead, Samaroo expressed optimism the company being able to once again source its molasses exclusively from the domestic sugar industry and not have to, as was the case last year, import 23 percent of its required stock.
He observed too, that the recently elected People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration in its 2021 Budget “anticipates substantial growth in the immediate future from the increased oil production” and that “it is the Group’s aim to take full advantage of the opportunities that a strong national economic environment presents.”

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