1. Trading info

At this moment there is one OFFER for 1000 tons of malt on the trading portal www.e-malt.com

• Offer for 500-1000 mtons of malt, 6RW, Esterel(100%), crop 2002, bulk, delivery 01/07/2003 - 30/09/2003, at EUR 272.50 /mton, FOB Antwerp. (to see and make a bid to the malt offer, please click here to view code MF0503P1055)
  
  

 Top Industry News 

• Canadian brewer, Sleeman Breweries Ltd., said net profit fell in the fourth quarter after a tax provision... Click here
  
  
• Carlsberg Breweries achieved solid growth and increased profitability while the sale of Carlsberg beer increased by 6%... Click here
  
  
• Plzensky Prazdroj, the Czech unit of the world's second largest brewer SABMiller, said it would pay a 1.96 billion crown... Click here
  
  
• Russian brewery Yarpivo sold about 6.7 million dekalitres of beer during the first two month of the current year... Click here
  
  
• Kopparbergs Bryggeri, the Swedish brewing group, has posted a pre-tax profit for 2002 of SKr2.2m (€242,000)... Click here

More news is available on site www.e-malt.com  

• Russian brewer Baltika, owned by Baltic Beverage Holdings, the joint venture between Carlsberg and Scottish & Newcastle, has filed for bankruptcy for its Belarusian brewer Krinitsa ...more info



• In the first month of this year Estonia produced less beer then in January last year, the statistics department of Estonia reported in a statement to BNS ...more info



• Analysts are predicting that once the current acrimony at Chilean brewer, CCU, settles, Heineken and the Chilean holding company, Quinenco, will buy out Anheuser-Busch ...more info


• Rich crops will follow the devastating drought in Australia, hitting hard at barley and many other crops, next season. That is the optimistic forecast by Agrecon ...more info



• SNS Securities raised its recommendation for Heineken, the Dutch brewing force, from "hold" to "add". The rise follows the publication of the brewer's 2002 earnings ...more info



• In December 2002 Ukraine exported 287,000 tons of barley, which is by 9,000 tons or 2.9% less than in the month before, agrimarket.info reported ...more info



• Miller of Dallas announced the acquisition of Willow Distributors, a deal that makes the newly named company, Andrews Distributors of North Texas ...more info




2. Industry news

Canadian brewer, Sleeman Breweries Ltd., said net profit fell in the fourth quarter after a tax provision and charges related to management changes, but 2002 sales hit a new record. Sleeman said it planned strict spending controls in 2003, and was confident it would meet guidance for 2003 -- it expects to increase earnings per share by at least 15 % from 2002's normalized earnings per share of 68 Canadian cents. For the quarter ended Dec. 28, the brewery reported net profit of C$2 million ($1.36 million), or 12 Canadian cents a share, against C$2.2 million, or 14 Canadian cents a share, in the fourth quarter of 2001. Sleeman Breweries Ltd. announced a net income for 2002 of C$12.3 million, 26% rise versus 2001, or C$0.77 per share on a diluted basis. The company has registered net revenues of C$37.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2002, up 10% from the fourth quarter of 2001, on the back of an 8% increase volumes. Net revenues for the year rose by 11% to C$157.1 million, with total volumes for the year rising by 10% to 1.12 million hl. EBITDA for the full year was 5% higher at C$29.9m...more info

Carlsberg Breweries achieved solid growth and increased profitability while the sale of Carlsberg beer increased by 6%, the company reported. Carlsberg A/S’ share of profit for the year amounted to DKK 1bn, which is an increase of 10% when excluding one-off items. Operating profit (EBITA) amounted to DKK 3.8bn, which corresponds to a rise of 15%. Profit before amortization and write-down of goodwill increased by 8% to DKK 2.1bn. “In general, the upward trend in earnings is the result of growth in the operations in Carlsberg Breweries in western Europe and eastern Europe and good progress in results in Asia, among other things because of Hite (South Korea) and the profit guarantee in Carlsberg Thailand. The year was characterized by increased focus on the strengthening of the Carlsberg brand, and 2002 saw an increase in marketing spendings of more than DKK 0.4bn. Carlsberg A/S’ share of profit for the year per share amounted to DKK 20.5 against DKK 17.4 last year (exclusive of goodwill, own shares and one-off items), which corresponds to an increase of 18%.” ...more info

Plzensky Prazdroj, the Czech unit of the world's second largest brewer SABMiller, said it would pay a 1.96 billion crown ($67.03 million) dividend on 2002 profits, Reuters reported. The company said the first-ever dividend, equal to 100% of the nominal value of the brewery's shares, was approved at an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday. According to Prazdroj spokesman Alexej Bechtin, the meeting also voted to appoint Steve Woodward to the board of directors, replacing outgoing Chairman and Managing Director Tony van Kralinger who will head SAB's operations in South Africa. Woodward has also been appointed new managing director and is due to assume the chairmanship on Wednesday, the spokesman said. Prazdroj, based in the western Czech city of Plzen (Pilsen), makes the original Pilsner Urquell lager and is the largest brewing group in the Czech Republic, a country with the largest beer consumption per capita in the world...more info

Russian brewery Yarpivo sold about 6.7 million dekalitres of beer during the first two month of the current year. This is 6% more versus the same figures of the previous year. Sales values of the company totalled 400 thousand roubles 21.5% more than during the same months of 2002.

Kopparbergs Bryggeri, the Swedish brewing group, has posted a pre-tax profit for 2002 of SKr2.2m (€242,000), versus a pre-tax loss of SKr2.9m (€319,000) for 2001. The company has registered a 35.6% turnover rise up to SKr595.5m (€65.4m). The company said its 2002 results had been adversely affected by one-time costs of SKr4.9m (€538,000) in relation to its acquisition of rival brewer, Banco Bryggeri AB, and by additional costs off SKr2.0m (€220,000).