For Carlsberg, 2007 was a year of significant progress and strong results, both in terms of operations and strategy, according to its press release, February 19.

• Organic volume growth of 11% and rising market shares in most important markets across all geographical segments.

• Net revenue climbed 9% to DKK 44.8bn (DKK 41.1bn in 2006). Calculated in local currencies net revenue climbed 10%.

• Operating profit was DKK 5,262m (DKK 4,046m in 2006). Beverage activities generated DKK 5,001m, representing marked progress of 25% on last year. BBH, Eastern Europe and Western Europe all made positive contributions to the development.

• Net profit rose to DKK 2,297m (DKK 1,884m in 2006), with earnings per share rising 22% as a result.

• As last year, it is recommended to the Annual General Meeting that a dividend be paid of DKK 6.00 per share.

• Based on the current business, Carlsberg anticipates operating profit of approx. DKK 5.9bn for 2008, with approx. DKK 5.6bn of this coming from beverage activities.

Net profit is expected to increase by approx. 20%.

"The results for 2007 are very satisfactory and confirm that Carlsberg is in good shape. The marked increases in raw material prices will make 2008 a challenging year, so ...More Info

Foster's Group Ltd, Australia's biggest alcoholic drinks company, posted its slowest growth in first-half net profit in several, as U.S. wine demand slowed and the strong dollar crimped earnings, Reuters reported February 18.

Foster's said net profit before one-offs for the six months to December 31 rose 6 percent to A$393.5 million ($361 million) from A$371.4 million, helped by a strong performance in Australia and Europe.

That beat market forecasts of A$384.5 million before one-offs, according to a Reuters survey of eight analysts, but was well below the double-digit pace of recent years and the 22 percent rise in the six months to June 2007.

Net profit after tax and including items fell 28 percent to A$398.6 million.

Foster's said Australian beer, wine and spirits earnings before interest and tax increased 9.4 percent to A$433.4 million, including a one-off gain of A$17.8 million on the sale of properties.

Earnings before interest and tax in the United States slumped by 32.2 percent to A$98.3 million, hurt by softer sales for Australian wine, increased input costs and a high Australian dollar that reduced earnings translated into local currency. In constant currency terms, earnings fell 11.9 percent.

In Australia, Foster's mainstream beers have come under pressure as consumers switch ...More Info

UK maltsters are likely to purchase around 1.86 million tonnes of barley from the 2008 harvest according to the Maltsters Association of Great Britain (MAGB), Farmer’s Guardian reported February 19.

In England demand is equally split between winter and spring varieties with the greatest demand (60 per cent) in the 1.65-1.85 per cent nitrogen band.

In Scotland almost 92 per cent of demand is for spring varieties, with 56 per cent of demand for under 1.55 per cent nitrogen barley.

Chris D. Powell(1), David E. Quain(2) and Katherine A. Smart(1)
(1)School of Biological and Molecular Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Headington, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK
(2)Coors Brewers, Technical Centre, PO Box 12, Cross Street, Burton-on-Trent DE14 1XH, UK


Abstract
Ageing in budding yeast is not determined by chronological lifespan, but by the number of times an individual cell is capable of dividing, termed its replicative capacity. As cells age they are subject to characteristic cell surface changes. Saccharomyces cerevisiae reproduces asexually by budding and as a consequence of this process both mother and daughter cell retain chitinous scar tissue at the point of cytokinesis. Daughter cells exhibit a frail structure known as the birth scar, while mother cells display a more persistent bud scar. The number of bud scars present on the cell surface is directly related to the number of times a cell has divided and thus constitutes a biomarker for replicative cell age. It has been proposed that the birth scar may be subject to stretching caused by expansion of the daughter cell; however, no previous analysis of the effect of cell age on birth or bud scar size has been reported. This paper provides evidence that scar tissue expands with the cell during growth. It is postulated that symmetrically arranged breaks in the bud scar allow these rigid chitinous structures to expand without compromising cellular integrity.
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