The Nation Newspaper

Tag: International Breweries

  • Brewery firm announces changes in management

    Brewery firm announces changes in management

    International Breweries has said its Managing Director, Carlos Coutino, has moved to a top leadership position in its parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev.

    The company said Nicholas Kade is the new managing director. The leadership change takes effect from March 1.

     IBPLC, a part AB InBev, in a statement, said Coutino has had an impactful eight-year journey, having “joined the firm in 2018 as national Sales/Trade Marketing director.

    He was appointed managing director and Business Unit president on January 1, 2023.

    Under him, the firm recorded its highest sales and market share and achieved profitability six years of restructuring.

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    Beyond commercial achievements, Coutino led the reshaping of AB InBev’s digital landscape in Nigeria by championing a best-in-class digital product developed with local talent, an innovation successfully scaled in six countries.

    The board and management of IBPLC lauded Coutino for his outstanding performance and wished him the best in his new role as managing director for Honduras and El Salvador in the AB InBev group.

    IBPLC’s new Managing Director, Mr. Nicholas Kade, is a senior commercial leader with over 15 years experience driving growth and transformation across Africa. Prior to his appointment, Kade served as the sales director of International Breweries PLC, responsible for national sales strategy, commercial execution and performance delivery in a high-growth, complex market.

    He possesses a bachelor’s degree in business management, an honours degree in business management, and a Master’s of Commerce (with Distinction), all from Stellenbosch University; complemented by a Postgraduate Programme in Business from GIBS Business School, University of Pretoria.

     Kade joined AB InBev through a highly competitive Graduate Management Trainee programme, providing a strong foundation in end-to-end commercial leadership.

    He progressed through multiple commercial director roles in South Africa, with accountability for sales strategy, revenue growth, route-to-market execution and leadership of large, diverse teams across regions. He has a track record of leading customer experience transformation, business enablement implementation and delivering sustainable commercial results.

  • International Breweries lauds Ogun State

    International Breweries, brewers of Trophy Larger Beer, and a  member of AB InBev group, has lauded Ogun State government for policies towards growth of businesses.

    Its Legal and Corporate Affairs Director, Otunba Michael Daramola, who spoke during the inauguration of the governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta, noted that through favorable government policies,  the company was able to build a  state-of-the–art brewery,  which began operation in 2018. He expressed hope that the new administration will sustain and improve on the favorable policies of the previous government.

    “As a responsible corporate citizen, we will always rejoice with the good people of the state and do whatever we can for the betterment of its citizens,” Daramola said.

    In a similar vein, the firm’s Marketing Director, Tolulope Adedeji, said: “We are never shy of giving back to the communities in which we operate. We deemed it fit to celebrate the occasion with our numerous consumers, who came in their numbers to celebrate another milestone in the state. We want to continue to share in our consumers’ joy and help them celebrate better occasions that are very important to them.”

  • International Breweries’ plant eyes 2,600 new jobs

    Foremost brewer International Breweries has inaugurated its N90 billion world-class plant in Sagamu, Ogun State.

    The plant promises to create 600 direct and over 2000 indirect jobs along the value chain.

    President Muhammadu Buhari, who inaugurated the plant yesterday, restated the government’s commitment to securing the business environment so that foreign direct investment (FDI) could flow into the country.

    Represented on the occasion by Secretary to Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, the president said the government is committed to developing the country through investment in infrastructure.

    He urged more international firms to invest in the country and explore the various opportunities inherent in the policies of government which are specifically targeted at creating a friendly business operating environment.

    Commending the brewer for its enormous investment, Buhari said it is the sixth largest listed company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) with N275 billion market capitalisation.

    He said the impact of the brewery would cut across various sectors of the economy, ranging from agriculture, manufacturing to haulage services and also boost activities in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector.

    Also speaking, the state governor, Sen Ibikunle Amosun said the commissioning of the plant bore eloquent testimony to the existence of a conducive business ecosystem in the state. This he said has made it the new industrial capital of the country.

    He urged the firm to leverage the comparative advantages in the state and focus on backward integration and import substitution to grow the firm’s profitability and the nation’s economy.

    The Global CEO, AB InBev, Carlos Brito, said the inauguration of the plant indicates its interest and commitment to the growth of the country, adding that the company has supported locals through job creation.

    He said: “We have improved the livelihood of farmers and retailers, we have infused local and foreign cultures and technologies to drive sustainable socio-economic growth. For centuries, the experience of sharing a beer has brought people and cultures together. To brew the highest quality beers, we need a sustainable environment and thriving communities. Sustainability is not just related to our business, it is our business and our people are at the heart of our business.”

    The Managing Director, International Breweries Plc, Annabelle Degroot, said  the brewery would be instrumental to empowering farmers and local manufacturers, as most of the raw materials required would be sourced locally. This will in turn, contribute to the overall economic development of the country.

    Degroot said the plant christened ‘Gateway Plant,’ was a major step of the   company’s strategic goal to become a   leading beverage manufacturer in the country.

  • N150m suit: court urges businessman, International Breweries to reconcile

    Justice Sonia Akinbiyi of an Ogun State High Court in Ijebu-Ode has urged    a   businessman  Adeosun Adebayo and International Breweries Plc to explore an alternative resolution of their dispute.

    Adebayo is seeking N150 million from International Breweries as damages following ill-health he suffered after allegedly consuming contaminated Trophy beer produced by the company.

    Joined alongside International Breweries as second defendant is Managing Director Sharelink Proxy Service Ltd, Ijebu-Ode depot.

    At the last hearing on April 6, first defendant’s counsel Mr Omotayo Adetona said reconciliation attempts had stalled and that the firm had just appointed a new director who was the person authorisedto negotiate on its behalf.

    The judge advised the parties to consider Alternative to Dispute Resolution (ADR) and adjourned till May 17.

    The claimant, through his lawyer Wale Ajayi, said on July 20, 2015 he bought and consumed trophy beer produced by the first defendant but it caused him stomach pain, vomiting, stooling, shock, hypertension, amongst others, which landed himin hospital.

    He is seeking the sum of N100million, “being damages for shock, pain, agony discomfort and sundry inconveniences” as a result of “the defendants’ negligence on account of consumption of contaminated and harmful Trophy beer.”

    He is also asking for the sum of N1,676,000for medical expenses borne by him”as a result of negligent act of the defendants, bottling and selling contaminated and harmful trophy beer to the claimant.”

    The claimant is further asking for the sum of N50 million, “being damages for loss of life expectancy as a result of damages to the health of the claimant” and the sum of N5 million as professional fee of the claimant’s lawyer.

    In its statement of defence, the first defendant through its lawyer Mr OmotayoAdetona denied that the product that was consumed by the claimant was from its brewing facility.

    It contended that if it was from its facility, it must have been tampered with either by the claimant or any other person with a view to making phony claims against the first defendant.

  • Firm seeks N2b from bank for ‘contract breach’

    A Lagos State High Court, has adjourned till June 5, a suit by Infinity Snacks and Beverages Ltd, seeking N2,076,801,430.42 from Stanbic IBTC Bank as damages for alleged breach of contract.

    In a suit filed by its counsel Olumide Sofowora (SAN) before Justice A. M. Lawal, the firm said it suffered economic misfortune from the breach.

    According to a December 23, 2016 Statement of Claim, it said it received approval for a N934,029,835 loan for factory expansion from the Bank of Industry (BoI) Ltd on August 19, 2014.

    BoI required a bank guarantee as one of the conditions for the loan and the firm sought this from Stanbic IBTC Bank, “which was not issued until December 22, 2015.”

    BOI disbursed N864,420,000 into the bank’s account in the firm’s name on May 9, 2016, but, according to the firm,  Stanbic IBTC did not inform it until May 17, 2016.”

    The firm said it immediately mandated the bank to bid for foreign exchange for the purchase of the machinery for its expansion.

    It claimed that the bank put “stumbling blocks” along the way by tying the BoI loan to its own loan portfolio granted to the firm.

    Infinity Snacks and Beverages claimed further that when the bank agreed to bid for the needed foreign exchange, it said there was no foreign exchange supply in the market.

    According to the Statement of Claim, the firm alleged that it “discovered” that the bank’s promises to secure foreign exchange for the firm “were all ploys to frustrate it from benefiting from the BoI facility of N864.420 million.”

    The firm is contending that the bank’s delay in providing the bank guarantee caused it “severe loss as the rate of foreign exchange to the Nigerian currency rose drastically during the period due to the Federal Government’s deregulation of forex market.”

    It also claimed that the bank unilaterally increased the bid rate from N280 to $1 to N288 to $1.

    In one instance, it alleged that Stanbic IBTC breached its duty of care “by its refusal to carry out the firm’s instructions and by its decision to place a lien on the firm’s funds which amounts to an unauthorized freezing of the firm’s account without lawful authorization.”

    In another instance, it alleged that the bank traded “with the N864.420.000 meant for expansion of the firm’s business for several months without payment of any interest whatsoever.”

    It said after a meeting with the bank “with a view to placing the N864.420m in an interest yielding account,” the bank promised to revert to the company on the issue “but it never did.”

    The defendant is yet to file its defence.