1. Trading offer & request

At this moment there are two OFFERS for 2500 tons of malt on the trading portal www.e-malt.com

• Offer for 100-1500 mtons of malt, 2RS Scarlet, crop 2002, bulk, delivery 1/6/2003 - 31/8/2003, at EUR 278.50 /mton, FOB Antwerp. (to see and make a bid to the malt offer, please click here to view code MF0605P1406)
  
  
• Offer for 1000 mtons of malt, 6RW Esterel, crop 2002, bulk, delivery 1/6/2003 - 30/9/2003, at EUR 268.00 /mton, FOB Antwerp. (to see and make a bid to the malt offer, please click here to view code MF0605P1408)
  
  

 Top Industry News 

• The Danish brewing force, Carlsberg Group, published on May 08, 2003 its Q1 Financial Statement as at 31 March 2003 ... Click here
  
  
• The UK brewing conglomerate, Scottish & Newcastle, announced on May 8, 2003 results for the first quarter to March 2003 from its 50% owned joint venture Baltic Beverages Holding AB ... Click here
  
  
• The Canadian brewer, Sleeman Breweries Ltd., and Diageo Canada Inc. announced on May 5, 2003 distribution agreements that will see the Diageo draught and packaged brands Guinness Click here
  
  
• While the mood in barley markets has turned somewhat, malt markets continue under heavy pressure ... Click here
  
  
• Finnish food and chemicals group Raisio reports EUR 201m (194.9) turnover for the first quarter of 2003. EBT, however, fell sharply to EUR –9,2m (+4,6) ... Click here
  
  
• EU: Despite the recent precipitation it is thought that the crops of winter barley will not fully recover Click here
  
  
• There has been registered a theoretical deficit of malting barley of 1.5 million tons in the world ... Click here
  
  

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

• Beer production in the Czech Republic fell by 2.9% to 3.664 million hl in the first quarter of 2003, the Czech Brewing and Malting Association reported ...more info



• The Netherlands-based brewing group, Heineken, has said it has secured major distribution deals for the UK market which will see the brewer supply premium beer directly to 1,000 pubs ...more info



• Southeast Asia's largest beverage and food group San Miguel Corp posted on May 5, 2002 its income rose 21 % in the first quarter ...more info



• MONTREAL -- Quebec microbrewers, disappointed with a federal competition bureau inquiry into practices by Molson and Labatt, say they will raise the issue ...more info



• Fourth-quarter earnings at the Canadian brewer, Molson, rose by 80% to C$60.6m (US$42.7m), from C$33.6m in the corresponding quarter last year ...more info



• Molson Inc. brewed record net earnings of $312 million in its fiscal year ended March 31, compared with $178 million the previous year ...more info



• Oxoid, a leading manufacturer and distributor of microbiological culture media and other diagnostic products have developed a new diagnostic product for the brewing industry ...more info



• Wolverhampton & Dudley (W&D), the UK regional brewing force, is emerging as a possible bidder for the Dorset-based pub group, Eldridge Pope ...more info



• Danske Equities has reduced its rating on Carlsberg, from "Trading Buy" to "Buy" ...more info



• Asia Pacific Breweries (APB), the brewery conglomerate of Singapore, will purchase the outstanding 8.5% of shares in the Vietnamese brewery, Hatay Brewery Ltd (HBL) ...more info



• The sale of the remaining 51% in the Portugal's second largest brewing force, Central de Cervejas (Centralcer), to the UK brewer, Scottish & Newcastle (S&N), has been delayed as the fine details of the deal are agreed ...more info



• Merrill Lynch, the USA investment bank, has reduced its rating on the Hong Kong-listed Chinese brewer, Tsingtao, to "sell" from "buy" ...more info



• Prazske Pivovary, the Czech brewer, part of the Interbrew brewing force, has registered a loss of CZK42 million for the first quarter of 2003, an increase of CZK28m on the loss in the first quarter of 2002 ...more info



• Anadolu Efes, the Turkish brewer and malt producer, has reported a net profit for the first quarter of 2003 of TL2.6 trillion (US$1.7m/€1.5m), versus TL12.5 trillion (US$8.1m/€7.2m) in the first quarter of 2002 ...more info



• Rabbe Bergström, the grower representative in the ongoing price negotiations for malt in Finland, met with the malt makers last week ...more info



• The ongoing talks about the restructuring of Carlsberg’s production in Norway now point towards survival for the city’s brewery E. C. Dahls, together with the Ringnes brewery in Oslo ...more info



• Beer sales in Finland suffered a decline of 6.3% in the first quarter of the current year at 81.1 million litres ...more info



• This autumn, Sweden will get its first brewing school, when Västerbergslagens Utbildningscentrum sets up a brewery technician programme ...more info




2. Brewery News

The Danish brewing force, Carlsberg Group, published on May 08, 2003 its Q1 Financial Statement as at 31 March 2003. According to the statement, the beer volume is at level with last year but the Carlsberg brand experienced an increase of just over 5%. Net revenue totalled DKK 6,855m versus DKK 7,572m last year. Operating profit (EBITA) amounted to DKK 18m against DKK 440m last year (-96%). Profit before amortisation and write-down of goodwill totalled a negative DKK 112m against DKK 172m last year, the company reported. The decline of profit is attributed to (i) the calendar shift in Easter sales in the Nordic regions, (ii) the adverse exchange rate development and sales price trend in Russia, (iii) the decline in sales within the on-premise sector particularly in the southern European markets, (iv) the adverse exchange rate developments and rising costs due to increased pension obligations in the UK, and (v) the adverse influence on the Asian market caused by i.a. the exchange rate developments and SARS ...more info

The UK brewing conglomerate, Scottish & Newcastle, announced on May 8, 2003 results for the first quarter to March 2003 from its 50% owned joint venture Baltic Beverages Holding AB (BBH). The first quarter, due to the winter weather is the low season for beer sales throughout BBH's areas of operation. Operating costs for the period were adversely affected by the implementation of distribution changes in Baltika and start up costs at two new breweries. BBH remains confident in the growth prospects for the market, and anticipates its performance for the full year to be in line with its expectations. BBH continued to demonstrate its underlying strengths in a quiet quarter for beer markets in its areas of operation. Market share grew in all three regions: in Russia by 0.8% to 34.3%, in the Ukraine by 1.4% to 20.4% and in the Baltics by 0.2% to 45.5%. Market volumes in Russia fell by 5% against a very strong comparative period last year...more info

The Canadian brewer, Sleeman Breweries Ltd., and Diageo Canada Inc. announced on May 5, 2003 distribution agreements that will see the Diageo draught and packaged brands Guinness, Kilkenny, Harp and Smithwicks being distributed by Sleeman in the provinces of British Columbia and Quebec. Sleeman presently distributes these products in Nova Scotia and PEI. Arrangements for the distribution of such brands will remain the same in all other provinces across Canada. These arrangements specifically exclude existing arrangements for the Guinness Extra Stout packaged brand. President of Diageo Canada, Rick Fitzgerald said, “As part of our on-going commitment to deliver value and growth this is an important step for Diageo Canada. This new arrangement will further improve our business efficiencies and help Diageo to continue to improve the availability of our brands to consumers by expanding the points of distribution. This will support our growing beer business, in particular Guinness, which is increasingly gaining in popularity with consumers...more info

3. Malt News

While the mood in barley markets has turned somewhat, malt markets continue under heavy pressure. Sales in Germany, Belgium, France for delivery in 2004 were done at prices down to EUR 280,-, delivered breweries. Some of the large brewers have not entered the market yet. Beer sales remained very poor in March, e.g. Germany registered a minus of 12 % as compared to 2002. For Jan-March the figure is minus 9,1 %. Also Belgium (Interbrew) reported disappointing sales for the first quarter of 2003.

Finnish food and chemicals group Raisio reports EUR 201m (194.9) turnover for the first quarter of 2003. EBT, however, fell sharply to EUR –9,2m (+4,6). The turnover from the malting division took a nosedive and ended at EUR 2.8m (4.2). This was explained by a cold winter in the major export areas, which meant lower consumption of beer and thus lower sales of malt.

4. Barley News

EU: Despite the recent precipitation it is thought that the crops of winter barley will not fully recover from the detrimental conditions of winter and early spring. It looks better for spring grains, but there is still a moisture deficit in the ground, and more rains in May will be needed.

There has been registered a theoretical deficit of malting barley of 1.5 million tons in the world. Nevertheless market prices started a steep decline in January in Europe and to lesser extent in the USA. Only Canada and Australia escaped the price decline, quite understandable after their crop disasters. Industries, trade and analysts asked themselves, what had gone wrong with a bull market without sufficient supplies. One consequence should be that markets would react more cautiously to bad crop news in the future. However, we believe that local markets will still react to any developments within their own areas.