East African Breweries Plc posted a 49% jump in net profit to Sh18.2 billion for the year ended June 30, 2026, crossing the Sh146 billion revenue mark for the first time in the company’s history.
Net revenue rose 13% to Sh146 billion, with growth spread across all three core markets. Uganda revenue climbed 16% and Tanzania jumped 44%, while Kenya, still accounting for roughly 60% of group sales, grew a more modest 5%. Beer and premium products each increased 9%, while mainstream spirits surged 30%, supported by brands including Kenya Cane, Tzee and Uganda Waragi. .
The profit jump owed as much to the balance sheet as to sales. EABL cut total debt by Sh6.2 billion during the year, trimming finance costs by Sh1.5 billion as interest rates eased across the region, according to a company briefing in Nairobi. That reduction, paired with volume growth and tighter cost control, lifted net profit from Sh12.2 billion a year earlier.
The board recommended a final dividend of Sh8.70 per share, bringing the total payout to Sh12.70 per share, a 59% increase. EABL’s share price rose 43% over the year to close at Sh269 on June 30.
Group Managing Director and CEO Jane Karuku called the results one of the company’s strongest in recent years. “Profit After Tax increased by 49% to Kshs.18.2 billion, supported by volume growth, effective cost management, and lower financing costs, while total debt reduced by Kshs.6.2 billion, further strengthening our balance sheet,” she said.
EABL’s home market carries its own pressure. Kenya’s alcohol regulator has proposed restrictions on where and when alcohol can be sold, a policy the Alcoholic Beverages Association of Kenya has warned could push more consumers toward the illicit market that already undercuts legal pricing across the region.
The results also land mid-transition. Drinkabl.media’s March coverage of the Asahi acquisition traced Diageo‘s sale of its 65% EABL stake back to its origins, a deal valuing the brewer at $4.8 billion and expected to close in the second half of 2026. Kenya Wine Agencies has since filed a competition complaint against the transaction, and distributor Bia Tosha continues a separate court challenge, leaving regulatory approval in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania as the next test of a results season EABL would otherwise call its best in years.
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