The Russian brewing subsidiary of the Interbrew group, Sun Interbrew, has registered net sales of about EUR 128.1 million for the second quarter of 2002, which is up 11% from the EUR 115.4 million sales in the corresponding period last year. However, according to analysts’ forecasts, company’s net profit for the year will be down from 2001. This might happen because Sun Interbrew lost market share in the domestic beer market during the second quarter, for which the company registered a fall from EUR 8.6m to EUR 3.5m of its net profit year-to-year.

Sun Interbrew said the majority of its EUR 35.2m capital investment in the second quarter went towards the installation of canning and PET bottling lines, as glass bottles are rather expensive than PET and cans. The company said the switch to cheaper packaging in the fourth quarter of 2002 would result in a rise in profits.

17 September, 2002