Baltic Beverage Holdings may consider buying breweries in ex-Soviet states, thanks to the success of its Russian operations. Ramm-Schmidt would not mention any specific areas, but said if it did buy other breweries they would be located in former Soviet Union countries. BBH has seen excellent growth in Russia. And despite growth softening somewhat in the country it still remains a key growth region for Carlsberg and S&N.

BBH plans to invest more than $200 million in Russia, Christian Ramm-Schmidt, administrative director for Baltic Beverages Holding, said in a statement. This year the company is to finish the plant in Khabarovsk and to increase the capacity at the plants of “Baltica” in Rostov, Tula and Saint-Petersburg, Mr. Ramm-Schmidt added.

Baltic Beverages Holding AB was created in 1991 by Hartwall Pls and Pripps Ringnes specially for the work in the countries of Eastern Europe. From 2001 BBH is owned, share and share alike, by Hartwall and Carlsberg Breweries AS. In 2002 Hartwall joined with the British company Scottish & Newcastle.

BBH has its plants in Russia, Baltic States, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. In Russia BBH owns the most shares of “Baltica”, “Vena”, “Iarpivo”, “Voronezh”, “Gold Ural”, “Picra”. “Baltica” has productions areas in Saint-Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Tula, Samara and is building a brewery in Khabarovsk. BBH’s breweries in Russia produce about 200 million decalitres of beer per annum.

03 February, 2003