Scottish & Newcastle Plc, Britain's largest beer maker has posted a 15 % rise in annual profits on July 1, 2003 and said trading in May and June had been more encouraging than earlier in the year. The brewer, which produces three of Europe's top 10 beers -- Kronenbourg, Foster's and Baltika -- posted pre-tax profits of 507.3 million pounds ($836.5 million) in the year to April 27 compared with analysts forecasts of 498-523 million pounds, according to Reuters.

Scottish, like other brewers, was hit by a weak beer market in Europe in the first part of 2003. But it added in a statement: "Recent trading in all markets has been significantly more encouraging than the first four months of the year". It said that, while market conditions in the second half of the year were likely to be easier than in the first half, persistently low consumer confidence made the group cautious as to the extent of the recovery overall.
Last week brought differing signals from brewers. Dutch brewer Heineken warned of flat first-half profits, while Belgium's Interbrew reassured investors with a steady trading update. The British brewer is in the midst of major reforms, putting its entire 1,450-strong pub estate up for auction while buying Portuguese brewer Central de Cervejas and British cider maker Bulmer, and is on the lookout to spend its pub auction money on further brewing expansion.
The UK brewer's shares have underperformed both the FTSE 100 index and the DJ Stoxx European food and beverage index by around 30 percent over the past year. The stock closed on Monday at 366-1/2 pence.

02 July, 2003