Coopers Brewery Limited has announced a record AU$19.5 million profit for the 2006-07 financial year on the back of growing beer sales in Australia and overseas, in a press release, November 8.

The result represents a 53.5% increase over the 2005-06 profit of AU$12.7 million, although that figure was impacted by costs associated with the defence of the attempted takeover bid by Lion Nathan in 2005.

Coopers Managing Director, Dr Tim Cooper, said turnover in 2006-07 had reached a record AU$141 million, 8.2% above the AU$130 million in 2005-06.

“Beer sales in 2006-07 have again shown solid growth with total sales rising by 7.9% from 2005-06,” Dr Cooper said.

“On the national stage, Coopers now accounts for 3.2% of all beer sales with growth of 22% in beer volume in the eastern states and Western Australia. Total beer sales in Australia generally have been static and for Coopers to be able to continue to grow its sales and achieve a record profit is a testament to the company’s strength.”

Dr Cooper said much of the company’s strong performance nationally could be attributed to the efforts of Coopers’ distribution company, Premium Beverages Pty Ltd, which is responsible for distribution across Australia, apart from South Australia and ...More Info

SABMiller, the FTSE 100 brewer, is taking advice from Morgan Stanley and Dresdner Kleinwort as it considers whether to become involved in the Scottish & Newcastle (S&N) bid battle, The Times reported November 9.

S&N, which owns the John Smith’s and Kronenbourg 1664 brands, has been tipped as a possible target for the likes of SABMiller and Anheuser-Busch after rebuffing a joint approach worth almost £9 billion from Carlsberg of Denmark and Heineken, the Dutch brewer.

It is understood that although SABMiller has made no firm decisions, it is considering options ranging from making an outright bid for S&N to attempting to acquire its interests in India and China or its 50 per cent stake in Baltic Beverages Holding (BBH).

A source close to the situation insisted that neither Morgan Stanley nor Dresdner Kleinwort had been formally hired by SABMiller. “It’s not a question of how it should get involved but whether it should get involved. No decision has been taken.”

The possible involvement of SABMiller comes amid continuing acrimony between S&N and Carlsberg, its joint venture partner in BBH. S&N claims that the Danish group’s actions have breached their BBH agreement and has launched an arbitration claim to buy Carlsberg’s 50 per cent.

The ...More Info

Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. ("FEMSA") announced a US$ 392 million investment for the construction of two new plants in Meoqui, in the northern state of Chihuahua in Mexico: US$ 275 million for a brewery and US$ 117 million for a glass bottle facility, according to company’s press release, November 7.

In a first stage, the new brewery will have annual production capacity of 5 million hectoliters, an increase of 15% over FEMSA Cerveza's current capacity in Mexico. The first stage of the glass bottle plant will have installed capacity of 700 million bottles per year, an increase of 54% over current levels. The investment will be made during 2008 and 2009, and both plants are expected to begin operations in 2010.

In a second stage to be launched to the extent required based on the evolution of our own demand trends, we anticipate the ability to make an additional investment of approximately US$ 315 million for incremental capacity of 5 million hectoliters per year for the brewery and a doubling of capacity in the glass bottle facility, reaching an installed capacity of 1,400 million glass bottles per year. These projects will allow our Mexico and export beer operations to continue ...More Info

Apart from the precarious supply situation of malting barley, malt capacities will not be enough for two or three years to come, according to analysts, November 2.

There are quite a few announcements of new constructions, but as per our information only factories in Germany 75.000 tons, Spain 100.000 tons, Russia 100.000 tons, Argentina 140.000 tons will be operational in 2008. Further projects for Belgium, France, Germany, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine and Australia will be realized between 2009 and 2011.

Prices for both feed and malting barley classes continue to slip in response to lower market prices for corn, wheat and soybeans, according to Marvin Zutz, executive director of the Minnesota Barley Growers Association, Farm & Ranch Guide reported November 8.

Zutz also noted that most export orders are now filled, but there remains a strong interest in U.S. feed barley in many parts of the world where cropping issues have created short supplies.

“Parties in both Japan and Europe continue to be interested in U.S. barley,” Zutz said. “That's mainly due to the GMO issue with corn and their need for feed grains.”

Most of the maltsters now have their contracts for malting barley out for growers to review. Producers appreciate this, Zutz said, since it gives them more time to formulate their 2008 cropping plans. In the past, contracts usually weren't issued until January or February of the growing year. The malting barley contracts also have a new feature this year - variable pricing.

“Anheuser-Busch is leading the way this year and they are offering contracts that are tied to wheat future prices,” Zutz noted. “This will make the contracts more competitive with the other commodities and should help in buying acres ...More Info