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.

Positive tendency to continue in 2000

The leader in the Baltic beer market is Baltic Beverages Holding from Sweden with a market share of nearly 50%, due to its partnership with local breweries. The positive development in the year 1999 does continue in 2000, too, although it is diminishing a bit. In 1999 Saku Brewery, in control of Scandinavian Beverages Holding, increased its sales in the Baltic market by 4%.

Estonia

The brewing industry reports that the beer consumption in Estonia did increase extremely to a per capita consumption of 61 litres, comparable to the Sovjet era, when beer had been less expensive. There had been a doubling of the consumption since 1992. The leader in the Estonian market is the Saku Brewery with about 50%. A Le Coq sells 1.05 Mio hl in Estonia, i. e..

Focus on new plants: Pivovarna Union d.d. Lubliana New high bay storage at Union brewery, Slovenia

The Pivovarna Union d.d. ("Union Brewery Inc.") in the Slovenian capital of Lubliana currently has a beer sales total of ca. 1 million hl per year. The brewery has an additional sales of 300,000 hl of alcohol-free beverages, most notably of ice tea, soft drinks and non-carbonated table water.

For about two years now, extensive investment has been made on modernising and extending the capacity of the brewery. Three filling lines for cans, glass and PET containers were delivered and officially put into operation a few weeks ago. In the logistics field, fleet and home delivery were scrapped.

In addition, a high bay storage was built together with Westfalia Systemtechnik GmbH & Co. from Borgholzhausen. The brewery is a joint-stock company.
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Bass claims that it is in no hurry to spend the mound of cash it has been sitting on since the sale of its brewing division to Interbrew. Speculation has Bass linked to Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. Bass is already the second largest hotel group in the world, owning the Holiday Inn chain (1,515), the Inter-Continental hotels (121), the Crowne Plaza hotels (142) and the Holiday Inn Express hotels (999). Although Bass may be the most global hotelier, having a presence in more countries than any other group, its rooms only account for 4% of the total. Given the group’s intention to double the profit contribution from its hotel division over the next five years, acquisitions of local chains and even one of the large upmarket chains are highly likely.

If Westminster Council has its way, partying will have to come to a close at 1am in the West End, which includes the core entertainment areas of Soho and Covent Garden as well as some other recently designated "stress" areas. Many clubs and bars in these areas currently open until 3am. Outlets outside the West End and the so-called "stress" areas will have to close at 11pm or midnight. This move would run against the spirit of the new licensing White Paper which favours the liberalisation of opening hours. While provincial cities in the UK are keen to create 24-hour cities, Westminster Council intends to turn back the clock to send Londoners and tourists alike to bed early so that all get a good night’s sleep.