JOINT VENTURE
Hard choices ahead for ‘flailing’ SoftBev
The ‘fizz really has gone pop’ at SoftBev's joint venture with Bowler Metcalf, says one analyst
An "extensive fair-value exercise" conducted on Bowler Metcalf associate SoftBev had resulted in a further impairment from the R70m flagged in the interim period to December 2016, the plastic packaging group said on Wednesday. This prompted one analyst to surmise that the "fizz really has gone pop" at the SoftBev joint venture (JV), in which Bowler Metcalf owns a 43% stake. The group expects the loss per share for the 12 months ended-June 2017 to be between 117.6% and 121.6% down on earnings per share of 79.2c in 2016 — much worse than previously thought. SoftBev bottles, markets and distributes well-known brands including 7UP, Pepsi, Mountain Dew and Mirinda as well as niche brands Jive and Coo-ee. "For over two years, management has taken criticism from shareholders on the JV and its poor performance," Anthony Clark, an analyst at Vunani Securities, said on Wednesday. He said that, with value having been destroyed at the joint venture, an option to sell it was probably off the tab...
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