The Japanese Kirin Brewery Co., one of three breweries that announced six-month results, said it revised down its full-year earnings outlook to 33 billion yen from the initial 39 billion yen, according to Japan Times. Yoshikazu Arai, Kirin's managing director, said the May tax hike on low-malt "happoshu" dealt a heavy blow to the firm's first half sales, with the unseasonably cool July weather likely to exacerbate its predicament through the rest of the year.
Combined sales of beer and happoshu over the six-month period dropped 7.2 % to 430.2 billion yen, the company said. While other alcoholic beverages - particularly Hyoketsu, a canned "chuhai" drink - logged strong growth, they failed to make up for the beer slump.

Yet group net profit during the first half grew 35 % to 13.93 billion yen, with revenue almost flat at 732.81 billion yen, thanks to mounting sales of nonalcoholic beverages and a cut in promotional costs.

13 August, 2003