Concern over Miller
First the good news: SABMiller reported organic volume growth in lager beer to reach almost 4% across the group in the five-month period to 31 August 2003. In Europe, volume was up 8% thanks to a strong performance in Russia and higher sales in Czech compared to the same period last year, when sales were affected by the severe flooding.
The Africa and Asia business delivered a 3% increase in organic volume growth over the prior year despite the negative impact of SARS in China. In South Africa, beer volumes have continued to grow, and for the period to mid-September were up by 2.5% on the previous year.
Now the bad news: In North America, Miller Brewing Company volumes were down some 4. Softdrink volumes (the key driver) were down 8% due to intense local competition..
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