E-Malt.com News article: 1126

SUN Interbrew, a subsidiary of Belgian brewing force Interbrew, which controls eight breweries in Russia and three in Ukraine, has registered a net loss of EUR 8.8 million in the first quarter of 2003. The registered loss is 13% higher than the loss registered in the same period 2002.

In January-March 2003 SUN Interbrew recorded a net loss of EUR 7.8 million. The revenue from sales for the first quarter of the current year reached a value of EUR 82.9 million against EUR 84.1 million for the same period last year. The company has registered a gross profit of EUR 28.8 million for the first quarter against EUR 34.7 million and EBITDA – EUR 7 million versus EUR 8 million in the first quarter 2002.

According to the company’s press release, SUN Interbrew increased beer sales in January-March 2003 by 8.3% versus the same period last year and reached the value of 2.6 million hl of beer (2.4 million hl in Jan-Mar 2002).

In a statement, Sun Interbrew said: "While the strength of the euro is likely to continue to affect our headline results, the underlying performance will continue to improve as we build volume back into our business and we also introduce higher margin products into our portfolio."
The company managed to raise its market share in Russia in the first quarter to 13.2%, compared to 11.8% this time last year. Market leadership in Ukraine improved with volume growth of 18% and a market share increase from 31.1% to 34.9%.

The company's main brands are Stella Artois®, Staropramen®, Klinskoye®, Sibirskaya Korona®, and Tolstiak® in Russia, and Stella Artois®, Chernigivske®, Rogan®, Taller® and Yantar® in Ukraine.

SUN Interbrew Limited is the second largest brewer in Russia and the largest brewer in Ukraine. The company is a strategic partnership between Interbrew, one of the largest brewers in the world, and the SUN Group, operating in the region since 1958, and in the beer sector of Russia and CIS since the beginning of 1990s. SUN Interbrew is a public company registered in Jersey, whose shares are listed and traded on the Luxembourg, Frankfurt and Berlin exchanges.


27 May, 2003