Kenya's East African Breweries says COVID-19 may slash profit by 25%

NAIROBI, May 17 (Reuters) - Kenya’s East African Breweries Limited (EABL) has said its profit after tax for the year ending June is likely to decline by 25% compared to the previous period, hurt by the coronavirus pandemic.

"The COVID-19 global pandemic and the subsequent response measures taken across the region have impacted our business negatively," the company said in a statement published on Saturday.

It added that its "current performance forecast indicates a decline in profit after tax of approximately 25% for the financial year ending 30th June 2020 versus prior year".

EABL, which is controlled by British drinks group Diageo , is the biggest alcoholic beverages company in Kenya. Its competitors include Heineken and smaller, home-grown companies such as Keroche Breweries.

The company reported 11.52 billion shillings ($107.66 million) in profit after tax for the year ended June 2019.

EABL also operates in neighbouring Uganda and Tanzania.

($1 = 107.0000 Kenyan shillings) (Reporting by George Obulutsa, writing by Elias Biryabarema; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)