Beer output in Russia: +27%

Beer production in Russia rose 26.7% to 26.1 million hl in the first half of 2000, relative to the first half of 1999. According to Taimuras Bollojev, Director-General of Baltika of St. Petersburg, per-capita beer consumption in Russia will be about 36 to 37 l this year, as against 30 l in the previous year. The share of imported beer dropped 1% to 2% in the first six months.
According to Bollojev, one cannot really speak about a "beer boom" in Russia despite an increase in sales. Sales of eight of the 30 largest beer producers dropped compared to the previous year. According to the manager, the generally favourable outlook for development of the industry is far from rosy because the Government is taking economically unrealistic decisions.24 million hl of beer for 4.15 million hl.K..

BBAG to become leading brewer

Second time lucky. BBAG may have failed in its attempt to acquire Pilsener Urquell, but this has not deterred the Austrian brewer from continuing its expansion into Central and Eastern Europe. This summer it bought Brewery Holdings, which brews the popular Gambrinus brand, from two investment groups: Jupiter Asset Management, a subsidiary of Germany’s Commerzbank, and Advent International, a US private equity firm. Although the price was not disclosed, analysts believe the deal to be worth more than US$100 million. Only recently, Brewery Holdings turned down an offer from SAB believed to be lower than BBAG’s.
Brewery Holding’s turnover this year is expected to be US$85 million..

S & N looks south

Scottish & Newcastle (S&N), the UK brewer, pub, restaurant and hotel operator has bought a 49% stake in the second largest Portuguese brewer Central de Cervejas (Centralcer) for £93 million and plans to produce several of its international brands in Portugal to bring the operation closer to full capacity. S&N’s portfolio of international beer brands includes Foster’s Miller, Beck’s, Kronenbourg, Newcastle Brown Ale and John Smith’s. Centralcer produces 2.7 million hl of beer, enjoys a 40% share of the market and produces Sagres, which at 1.9 million hl is one of the country’s top selling beers. John Nicolson, chairman of S&N’s international beer division, will sit on Centralcer management committee.

CEDC to distribute Beck’s

The Central European Distribution Corporation (CEDC), a US-based and Nasdaq-quoted distributor, announced that it has won exclusive distribution rights of Beck’s for the Polish market. CEDC, which claims to be the leading importer of beer, wine, spirits and distributor of domestic vodka brands in a market worth US4 billion at retail price level in 1998, operates 16 regional distribution centres in urban areas in Poland. The distributor thinks that there is a great potential for imported beer brands in Poland and expects that it will sell more than 100,000 cases of Beck’s in the first year.

Net profit up 19%

Heineken NV reported a 19% rise in first-half net profit. For 2000 the brewer expects growth in net profit to exceed 15% despite less than favourable summer weather in many of its markets. A higher exchange rate for the US dollar contributed to net profits rising to EUR249 million from EUR210 million in the first half of 1999. Operating profit as a percentage of net turnover was 10.6%. Net turnover grew 15% to EUR3,9 billion. Group beer volume rose 15% to 36.2 million hl. Sales volume of the Heineken beer brand increased worldwide by 7% to 10.5 million hl. Sales of the Amstel beer brand rose 7% to 5.2 million hl.

The Netherlands are the no. 1 beer exporters

According to the most recent report of Produktschap voor Bier in the Netherlands, the Association of Dutch Breweries, per-capita beer consumption has levelled off at 84.4 l in the Netherlands in 1999.
A total of 24.5 million hl of beer have been produced in the Netherlands last year (1998: 23.98 million hl). 12.19 million hl of this (11.7 million hl) were exported. 12.32 million hl (12.27 million hl) were sold domestically. Together with almost 1 million hl of imported beer, total domestic beer sales were 13.3 million hl (13.22 million hl). Pils had a 90.2% share, non-alcoholic beer had 2.0%. Speciality beers accounted for the remainder.
The Netherlands are not just the world’s largest beer exporter but also export to the largest number of countries (170)..

Tequila olé (once again)

And we had thought that we had seen the last of tequila-flavoured beers being launched into the market. To prove us wrong, Miller Brands Germany introduced Salitos, a tequila flavoured beer (5.9% ABV) in a 0.33 l clear longneck bottle with a ceramics label. What gives Salitos its unique selling position is the bottle opener, which is integrated into the base of the bottle. Not exactly a subtle hint to the consumer: "Hey, it takes one bottle to open another so have two." The product will initially be available in German bars and leading edge clubs.

Going bioscience

Karlsberg-Verbund, Homburg, reported an increase in turnover of 19% to DM1.1 billion (EUR563m) for the financial year 1999/2000 ended 31 March 2000. Karlsberg is Germany’s no. 10 brewer with an estimated beer output of 3.2 million hl in 2000. Including revenue from the breweries it controls in France, growth in the beer segment was +4.5% to DM587 million (EUR300m). However, the increase was attributed to the exceptional growth of its RTD beer-mixes, such as Desperados (a beer-tequila mix launched in 1996) and MiXery (a beer-cola mix also launched in 1996). As Dr Richard Weber, Managing Director of Karlsberg Verbund, admitted, beer volumes have been flat for some time. That is why Karlsberg has invested in fruit juice brands over the past few years.2m) to the group’s turnover.....

Warsteiner meets Miller

Warsteiner Brewery, Germany’s major brewer (estimated output 2000: 5.1 million hl) bought a 50% stake in Miller Brands Germany, the independent importer of Miller Genuine Draft (estimated sales volume: 50,000 hl annually) with a reported turnover of DM31 million. Although both companies will continue to operate independently, Miller Brands expects to make inroads into Warsteiner’s 34,000 gastronomic partners in Germany. Miller Brands Germany has been the sole importer of the US beer brand in Germany since 1995.

Mergers German style

It seemed like a good idea at the time even though the proposed merger between German brewers Bayerische BrauHolding (Paulaner) and Brau & Brunnen (Jever), which would have created the largest brewing group in Germany, could never shake off the image of a shotgun wedding. Who was wielding the shotgun, we leave to our readers’ guess. In any case, the merger which was announced in July did not come into effect. On 11 September both parties had to admit that they could not agree on criteria for the mutual evaluation. Read: one party would not accept the size of the stake the other wanted in the new company. Watch this space for further news on the fate of the troubled brewer Brau & Brunnen.