Czech brewery Budejovicky Budvar, the owner of the Budvar beer brand, has reported a decrease of 160 million crowns of its gross profit for 2002, compared to 2001. According to the preliminary results the gross profit for 2002 came to 280 million Czech crowns (US$9.7 million), Jiri Bocek, the company’s director reported in a statement.

The company also had registered a decrease in sales of 100,000 hl, selling 1.2 million hl of beer in 2002. Company’s exports decreased by 2.5% in 2002, compared to the previous year. The drop in sales is due to the flood in August 2002, the company said.

31 January, 2003