Chile's leading brewer CCU reported on October 8 a 10.6 % increase in third-quarter sales by volume compared with the same period in 2002, led by soaring Argentina beer sales, Reuters reported. CCU, controlled by Chile's Quinenco and Heineken NV of the Netherlands, sold 2.411 million hectoliters in the July-September period, it said in a statement of preliminary volumes.

Its Chilean sales during the quarter rose 6.1 % year-on-year to 1.975 million hectoliters while in Argentina they rose 37 % in the same period to 435,550 hectoliters. In the first nine months of this year, total sales volumes were up 8.8 % against a year earlier to 7.567 million hectoliters.

CCU sells beer, wine, soft drinks, nectars and mineral water in Chile and beer and wine in Argentina. The company posted a net loss in the second quarter of $1.4 million, trimming losses from the same period last year by 65.5 %. The company's shares in the Santiago Stock Exchange rose 3.7 percent on Wednesday to 2,510 pesos, while its American Depositary Receipts in New York were up 4.92 % to $19.20.

10 October, 2003