RWANDA’S leading brewery, Bralirwa, registered a huge jump in profits for the year ended December 2011 on account of increased outlay in marketing which boosted sales for both alcoholic and soft beverages, the company said on Friday. According to Bralirwa’s full year audited financial results, its profits rose by 41.9 per cent to Rwf14.7 billion in arguably the most challenging year on the basis of competition in the company’s history.The company says its revenues grew by 23 per cent to Rwf64.9 per cent up from Rwf52.7per cent in 2010."Our continuous focus on great sales execution combined with increased marketing investments, further efficiency improvements in our supply chain and high quality products enabled us to deliver once again robust performances,” said Jonathan Hall, Bralirwa’s Managing Director.Hall, who doubles as the company’s Board Vice chairman, said that despite a turbulent year that witnessed an increase in cost of production, transport costs, Bralirwa was able post a 38.9 per cent increase on Earnings Before Interests and Taxes-EBIT driven by higher revenue and effective cost management."Our increased investment in our brands and strong commercial partners has enabled us to sustain our position in the beverage market despite competition from local and regional competitors,” he added.He noted that dividends increased to Rwf24.20 per share,  representing a 20.4 per cent increase compared with Rwf20.09 in 2010, noting that the proposed final dividend amounting to 16.90 per share will be paid on June 29 this year."The final dividend will be paid to all shareholders whose names appear in the register of shareholders at the close of business on June 12,” he said.Willy Ngana, the brewer’s Financial Director, said that the company would, this year, invest over US$41 million in setting up a new soft drink line and utilities as well as upgrading the brewery to increase production.Experts project an even more challenging year for Rwanda’s beer market due to the volatility in the global economy especially in the euro zone, which is grappling with a debt crisis.Some raw materials like malt, which is used in manufacturing beer, are imported from debt saddled Europe.Experts say that if the industry is to remain afloat, it needs to settle on other raw materials like maize and sorghum, which can be solicited locally."2012 will continue to be challenging, but Bralirwa expects to benefit from the continuing economic growth in the African region,” Ngana said, adding that the country’s economic outlook demonstrates strong fundamentals with sustained growth, a backbone to support the company’s performance.To offset last year’s external shocks that were characterised by an increase in the price of raw materials and production costs, the brewer increased its soft drinks prices that pushed the country’s annual inflation to 8.18 per cent up from 7.85 per cent.