Cypriot beverage company Keo plc saw its first-half profit fall to €2.97 million in 2026, as weaker sales fed through to operating earnings, although its gross profit margin improved from a year earlier.

Net profit was down from €3.23m in the first six months of 2025, a decline of about 8 per cent.

Turnover also moved lower, falling 3.13 per cent from €33.4m a year earlier, continuing the softer sales picture seen by the group over the past year.

Gross profit, however, was broadly unchanged at €11.3m, allowing Keo to improve its gross profit margin to 34.9 per cent, compared with 33.9 per cent in the same period last year.

The stronger margin was not enough to prevent a fall further down the income statement, with profit from operations dropping to €2.5m, from €2.9m in the first half of 2025.

The latest figures follow a similar easing in Keo’s operating performance last year. For 2025 as a whole, the Limassol-based company reported operating profit of €8.8m, compared with €9.3m in 2024, while annual turnover fell by 1.1 per cent. Keo attributed that decline to the absence of a one-off sales agreement which had lifted the previous year’s figures.

Keo’s activities include beer and wine production, juice manufacturing and the bottling of natural mineral water for the domestic and export markets. It also imports and distributes beer, wine, spirits, juices, bottled water and other products in Cyprus.

Keo had said earlier this month that its board would meet on September 22 to consider and approve the unaudited interim accounts for the six months to June 30. The meeting announcement followed a series of corporate developments during the summer, including the completion of its dividend payment.

The company completed its €1.69m dividend payout in August after resolving software problems which had threatened to delay the distribution. Shareholders had approved the payment in July, equivalent to four cents per fully paid share and funded from Keo’s 2024 profits.

Meanwhile, Keo is also moving ahead with a proposed €25m beverage factory in Kato Polemidia, which cleared environmental screening in August. The environmental authority decided that a full impact assessment was not required, although the project still needs its remaining permits before construction can begin.

The planned facility, which is expected to take around two years to build, will handle juice packaging, wine processing and bottling, spirits production and storage and distribution activities, while working alongside Keo’s existing winery in Mallia.