Heineken’s unit Zywiec to spin off distribution unit
Looks like the going will get a lot tougher as the Polish beer market turns mature. Brewer Zywiec, the Polish unit of Dutch brewer Heineken, will spin off a unit responsible for sales and distribution to small retailers and hospitality clients, Zywiec said in a market filing on 26 September 2014.
Zywiec is the country’s number two brewer behind SABMiller’s Kompania Piwowarska. The new unit will allow for “a more effective and competitive” cooperation with clients of the traditional retail and hospitality segments, the brewer claims.
The move will entail transferring 1,500 employees to the new firm, Zywiec said.
Could this decision be related to Zywiec’s poor performance? On 20 August 2014 Warsaw-listed brewer Zywiec posted a PLN 27.8 million (EUR 6.7 million) attributable net profit in H1 2014, down from PLN 73.9 million year-on-year, while operating profit dropped 52.5 percent to PLN 55.5 million. First half revenues slipped 8.5 percent year-on-year to PLN 1.543 billion (EUR 370 million).
According to Poland’s Central Statistical Office (GUS) data, beer sales increased in the first six months of 2014 by 0.7 percent in terms of volume. In terms of value, they shrank by 0.5 percent, Gazeta Wyborcza reported.
Polish per capita consumption of beer stands at 100 litres.
