TOKYO -- Sapporo Holdings seeks to reduce its interest-bearing liabilities by roughly 30 billion yen ($254 million) over the next four years, strengthening the company's balance sheet in preparation for future investment expansion.
The Japanese brewer is expected to shed slightly more than one-tenth of its overall debt, dropping from a estimated 227.1 billion yen when the current fiscal year ends Dec. 31 to below 200 billion yen. Interest payments are seen falling by several hundred million yen annually, providing lift on pretax profit.