Economy to remain challenging in face of policy changes, Delta Beverages

Delta Corporation says the Zimbabwean economy will remain challenging in the face of rapid policy changes, rising global and local inflation.

Delta says this include disparities in the exchange rate and uncertainty over currency laws.

The company plans to exploit demand from infrastructure, mining, remittances.

Meanwhile, the further reports that Schweppes recorded sluggish sales growth in the 3 months to June, up just 9%, slowed down by shortages of fruit juice for its flagship product, Mazoe Orange Crush.

Delta reports: “The local supply of fruit juices has resumed as the harvesting season commenced in June 2022.”

However, Delta adds that consumer spending remains high driven by increased mining activities, infrastructure projects, marketing of commercial crops & payments of wages and salaries in foreign currency.

Meanwhile, “demand remains constrained by low disposable income in certain consumer groups,” notes Delta.

Delta Corporation Limited is principally an integrated beverage company with a diverse portfolio of local and international brands in lager beer, traditional beer, Coca-Cola franchised sparkling and alternative non-alcoholic beverages.

It has investments in associate companies whose activities are in cordials and juice drinks, wines and spirits.

The Company is listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and was first listed in 1946 as Rhodesia Breweries Limited.

Its origins, however, date back to 1898 when the country’s first brewery was established in Cameroon Street, (Salisbury) Harare, from where the brewing industry developed into a major industrial and commercial operation.

By 1950, the Company had built the Sable Brewery in Bulawayo, producing pale ale, milk stout and Sable Lager. Over the years the Company continued to expand its portfolio of businesses and diversified its brewing base.

In 1978 the name was changed to Delta Corporation Limited and the Company assumed the mantle of a holding company for a broad range of interests serving the mass consumer market.

These included lager and sorghum beer brewing, bottling of carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks, supermarket and furniture retailing, tourism and hotels and various agro-industrial operations.

The hotel, supermarket and furniture retailing businesses were demerged from the Group in 2001 to 2002 resulting in the Group focusing on the core beverages sectors.

Some supply chain related investments remained part of the Group until 2014 when the plastic packaging entity, MegaPak, was demerged. The Company has a minority shareholding in the now consolidated packaging group NamPak Zimbabwe.