Kenya's East African Breweries full-year pretax profit rises on increased sales (updated)
UPDATE 2-Kenya's East African Breweries full-year pretax profit rises on increased sales Adds EABL quote, paragraph 6
NAIROBI, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Kenya's East African Breweries EABL.NR said on Thursday its pretax profit rose 43% in the full year to end-June, lifted by increased revenues.
The brewer said profit jumped to 27.66 billion shillings ($214 million) from 19.31 billion in the year-earlier period.
Net sales rose 13% to 146 billion shillings, it added in a statement.
In December, London-listed Diageo DGE.L, maker of Johnnie Walker whisky and Captain Morgan rum, said it had agreed to sell its 65% stake in EABL to Japanese brewer Asahi Holdings 2502.T as part of a turnaround strategy to cut debt and revive growth.
In April, a Kenyan court dismissed a bid to stop the $2.3-billion sale, in a case brought by Kenyan beer distributor Bia Tosha in January over pending litigation dating back to 2016.
"This transaction is strictly between shareholders and does not involve EABL as a party," the brewer said on Thursday.
The brewer, which also has operations in Tanzania and Uganda, said it had declared a total dividend per share of 12.70 shillings, up 59% from the previous year.
($1=129.2500 Kenyan shillings)
(Reporting by George Obulutsa and Vincent Mumo Nzilani; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
((george.obulutsa@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: george.obulutsa.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))