RED Stripe’s net profit for the year to June 30 jumped by 160 per cent from year-earlier levels.

The local brewer’s $3.1 billion in earnings was bolstered by the disposal of its stake in two Caribbean breweries.

The gains from the sale of shares of Brassiere’d Haiti (Brana) and Windward and Leeward Brewery totalled $973 million.

But strong domestic sales and tighter local operations pushed up profit from operations in Jamaica by $300 million in the last quarter alone.

Other income jumped by $270 million and corporate taxes was $140 million less during the three months to June 30.

For the year, Red Stripe’s core business recorded growth in revenue from $12.7 billion last financial year to $14 billion this year. It resulted in trading profit increasing 47 per cent to

$2.7 billion.

Red Stripe held the shares in the Caribbean breweries for four decades as it assisted in developing them.

It sold its five per cent shareholding, valued at $487 million and its 10 per cent shareholding in Windward and Leeward Brewery valued at $472 million. Both breweries are majority owned by Heineken, the global beer brand headquartered in the Netherlands.

The disposal of the regional assets by Red Stripe (ultimately owned by UK-based Diageo) reduced to nil its overall investment portfolio, which totalled $960.6 million a year earlier, stated Red Stripe in its just-released financials.

Red Stripe aims to slash by 40 per cent its energy cost and reduce its carbon footprint with its US$7-million plant upgrade.

“The project reconfigures the brewery and process layout to ensure more cost-effective production,” stated Red Stripe.

A major part of that involved its co-generation plant commissioned in April 2014. The plant will use heat created from generating electricity to produce steam. It plans to use liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to fire its dual fuel engine until liquefied natural gas (LNG) becomes available in Jamaica.

The local brewer also continued its cultivation of cassava aimed to replace import content in its beers.

“The project continued unabated with the planting of high-yielding cassava on the 36- acre pilot farm,” stated Red Stripe, which aims to replace 70 per cent of imported inputs by 2020.