Carlsberg A/S, the world’s fourth-largest brewer, reported on November, its interim results as at 30 September 2009.

Carlsberg said it had delivered a strong set of results for the first nine months of 2009. This was based on detailed planning and superior execution across the Group overcoming the ongoing challenging market environment. Organic operating profit growth for the beverage activities was 27% and Group operating margin improved to 16.9% (14.5% in 2008). This was driven by the intense focus on efficiency improvements and value management. Combined with significant improvement in working capital and reduced capital expenditures, free cash flow increased substantially to DKK6.1 bln.

Beer volumes increased by 6% to 88.9 mln hl. Organic beer volume declined by 5% while net acquisitions contributed 11%. Although volumes grew in a few Northern & Western European markets in Q3, overall beer volumes declined in both the Eastern European and the Northern & Western European regions. The Asian business continued to grow. Pro rata volumes of other beverages were 15.2 mln hl (15.0 mln hl in 2008) for the Group.

Net revenue increased by 1% to DKK45.8 bln (DKK45.4 bln in 2008). Organic net revenue growth was flat. Pricing remains robust and price increases implemented ...More Info

Molson Coors Brewing Company reported on November, 4 double-digit income growth for the third quarter.

Net income attributable to Molson Coors increased 37.4 percent to $235.3 million for the third quarter, up from $171.3 million a year ago. Underlying after-tax income increased 22.7 percent to $212.9 million, or $1.14 per diluted share, up from $173.5 million, or $0.93 per diluted share, a year ago.

Peter Swinburn, Molson Coors president and chief executive officer, said “Molson Coors had a successful third quarter, with underlying earnings up more than 22 percent versus a year ago. This headline profit includes some non-operating and one-time noise, both positive and negative. The positive resolution of tax positions in the quarter was partially offset by currency headwinds, a mark-to-market hedge loss this year, and the challenge of cycling supplier negotiation benefits last year. Excluding these factors, earnings grew approximately 13 percent in the quarter. These trading results reflect a high level of brand investment, coupled with cost control and price management. Our results also reflect weak industry volume trends, continued cost inflation across our businesses, and more promotional pricing activity in Canada. In terms of our portfolio performance, total-company volume in the third quarter declined, and ...More Info

SABMiller plc and Molson Coors Brewing Company reported on November, 4 double-digit profit growth for their US joint venture MillerCoors for the quarter ended September 30, 2009.

“We are delivering our synergies, controlling costs and managing revenue for sustainable profit growth,” said MillerCoors CEO Leo Kiely. “In this challenging economic environment, we're also realizing the benefit of a well balanced portfolio that offers consumers choice and variety in all segments.”

MillerCoors domestic sales-to-retailers (STRs) were down 1.3 percent due to a slight decline in premium light volumes and continued softness in above premium and premium brands. Domestic sales-to-wholesalers (STWs) fell 0.7 percent, primarily driven by lower retail sales.

Pricing remained strong in the third quarter, as domestic net revenue per barrel, excluding contract brewing and company-owned distributor sales, increased 3.7 percent driven by sustained price increases taken in the fall of 2008 and reductions in discount activity.

Premium light brand volumes (Miller Lite, Coors Light, MGD 64) were down low-single digits largely due to a decline in Miller Lite, which was partially offset by MGD 64 growth. Miller Lite STRs were down mid-single digits and Coors Light STRs were down slightly.

MGD 64 continued to perform well ahead of expectations, achieving STRs of nearly three ...More Info

Cobra Beer founder Karan Bilimoria is seeking to raise 4.5 mln pounds for his Indian business after partly selling the British arm in a pre-pack administration deal, the Sunday Times reported on November, 1.

Bilimoria said it was "absolutely vital" to raise the money, adding it remained to be seen what size stake in the business new investors would be granted.

He said the Indian beer market had enormous potential and he was "very confident" of being able to raise the funds.

Cobra Beer went into administration in May with debts of around 70 million pounds owed to suppliers before Bilimoria sold 50.1 percent of the shares to the North American company Molson Coors for 14 mln pounds.

Bilimoria, who remains chairman of the joint venture company under the deal, has hired the accountancy firm Grant Thornton to work on a fundraising for the Indian business.

He plans to use the fresh finance to complete the purchase of a brewery in India and to develop the brand, the Sunday Times reported.

Cobra's Indian arm generated retail sales of about five mln pounds in the year to March but delivered losses of four mln pounds. Turnover is forecast to grow beyond 20 ...More Info

In January – September 2009, domestic beer sales by members of the Finnish Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry increased by 5% as compared to the same period last year, the Federation reported on October, 29.

The rise in alcohol taxation that came into force at the beginning of October increased beer sales at the end of September in particular. Stores stocked up on beer at the old tax rate.

According to the Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry’s statistics, a total of 632.5 million litres of beer, cider, long drinks, soft drinks and mineral waters were sold by the end of September. Compared to the corresponding period of last year, this represents growth of 11.9 million litres or 1.9 per cent.

Beer sales picked up to reach a growth rate of 5 per cent by the end of September. During the January-September period, beer sales totalled 323.8 million litres, which is 15.3 million litres more than in 2008. Statistics on volume sales from breweries to stores clearly reflect the 10 per cent rise in alcohol taxation that occurred at the turn of the month: stores stocked up on beer at the old tax rate.

“The brewing industry is ...More Info

Carlsberg and Hué People’s Committee have signed a so-called Memorandum of Understanding in which the Committee confirms its support for Carlsberg to acquire the Committee’s 50% shareholding in Hué Brewery, the Danish brewer announced on November, 4.

Carlsberg acquired its current 50% stake in Hué Brewery in 1994.

The brewery is market leader in the central part of Vietnam with Huda as the core brand. The brewery has two production sites with a total annual capacity of 2 mln hl.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed during the royal state visit of Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark by the chairman of the Carlsberg Group, professor Povl Krogsgaard-Larsen, and Hué Party Secretary, Ho Xuan Man.

Professor Povl Krogsgaard-Larsen, commented: “Hué Brewery is a strong company with a competent management team, a skillful and committed workforce and strong brands. The brewery has demonstrated solid sales growth for a number of years. We have had an excellent cooperation with Hué People’s Committee for many years and will continue to have so in the future. Carlsberg remains committed to investing in the future growth of Hué Brewery, its people and brands. The acquisition marks another important milestone for Carlsberg in Vietnam and will further strengthen our ...More Info

Baltika Breweries, Russia's leading beer maker, plans to organize production in Kazakhstan and to make EUR90 million from the sale of its license there, Interfax cited on November, 2 the company’s materials for an EGM which will vote on the issue on December 2.

Baltika would sign a deal with Kazakh brewer Derbes, and receive a quarterly royalty of 4.5% of net revenue from the sale of licensed beer, Interfax said.

The contract would expire on December 31, 2029.

Derbes, like Baltika, is a member of the Carlsberg group.

Baltika has been shipping beer to Kazakhstan since 2000. Its sales in Kazakhstan grew 18% to more than 9.5 million dal in 2008.

Nielsen market research indicates Baltika had 24% of the Kazakh market.

Derbes had 21% of the Kazkah market as of August this year and us capable of producing over 2.2 million hectolitres of beer annually at its breweries.

Baltika beers are already produced under license in Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Britain and Australia.

Farmers in the European Union, troubled by falling prices, are likely ease market pressure by offering hundreds of thousands of tonnes of barley into EU stores, leaving the bloc with a new mountain of surplus cereals, Reuters communicated on October, 27.

The EU supports farmers by guaranteeing it will buy some crops at a minimum price in its intervention scheme that started on Nov 1. In recent years, intervention this was barely used as commercial prices were higher than intervention subsidies.

But bumper harvests this year and the export-punishing rise in the euro's value has pushed down market prices for barley below the starting level of 101.31 euros a tonne at which the EU guarantees it will buy unwanted grain from farmers.

"We will definitely see large volumes of barley offered into intervention this season for the first time in years as market prices are so low," said Martin Schraa, chief grains analyst at German agricultural analysts AMI.

"In Germany we are talking about several hundred thousand tonnes in coming months."

The EU's intervention grain stocks shrank from 14 million tonnes at the beginning of the 2006/07 season to only 1.5 million tonnes now, including 554,000 tonnes of maize which no longer qualifies for ...More Info

Sofie M.G. Saerens, Kevin J. Verstrepen, Johan M. Thevelein and Freddy R. Delvaux

Abstract:
The production of volatile esters by yeast is of major industrial interest because the presence of these compounds determines the fruity aroma of fermented beverages, like beer and wine (6-8, 11, 13, 14, 23, 24, 31- 33, 37-41, 50). The need to understand and control ester synthesis is driven by the fact that esters play a key role in the sensorial quality of these fermented alcoholic beverages. Especially in the brewery, problems with ester production have been encountered by the introduction of modern brewing practices, such as high-gravity brewing, the use of tall cylindroconical fermentors and the production of reduced-alcohol beers. Indeed, it is wellknown that the use of worts of high specific gravity results in disproportionate amounts of esters (2, 30). In contrast to high-gravity brewing, fermentations in tall ‘Apollo’ fermentors or the production of low alcohol beers result in a reduction of ester formation, so that the produced beers lack desirable fruity tones (30). As esters are synthesized via several yeasts’ complex metabolic pathways, there is a need to gain a clear understanding of ester metabolism. One needs to take a closer look at the individual genes involved, their functions and regulatory mechanisms. In alcoholic beverages, there are two important groups of esters: the acetate esters and the medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA) ethyl esters. For acetate ester synthesis, the genes involved have already been cloned and characterized (16, 26, 28, 34, 52, 53, 55-57). Also the biochemical pathways and the regulation of acetate ester synthesis are welldefined (10, 28). About the molecular basis of MCFA ethyl ester synthesis however, research was only recently successful (10, 45, 46). This paper reviews the current knowledge of the synthesis of MCFA ethyl esters and discusses the different factors that allow MCFA ester formation to be controlled during fermentation.
Cerevisia, 33(2) 2008
www.cerevisia.eu