InBev, the world’s leading brewer, announced its results for the third quarter 2007 (3Q07) and 9 months 2007, in a press release, November 8.

Highlights: • Volume growth: beer volumes increased 3.6% organically in 3Q07 year-on-year (yoy), with volume growth in all Zones except Western Europe. Year to date, overall beer volumes were 4.8% higher.

• Revenue growth: revenue grew by 4.8% in the third quarter, due to higher volumes and an increase in revenue per Hl of 1.3%, or +2.9% eliminating the impact of the change in geographic mix. During the first nine months of 2007, revenue was 7.0% higher, as the result of 1.8% higher revenue per Hl and increased volumes. Excluding the impact of the change in geographic mix, revenue per Hl would have increased +3.2%.

• Cost control remains: Cost of sales (CoS) in the 3Q07 were impacted by some commodity cost pressures, leading to an increase in CoS per Hl of 3.7%, year-on-year. Year to date, CoS per Hl was up by 2.6%. Despite the pressure on commodities, the company is confident that CoS per Hl will be below inflation for the full year. Operating expenses, and more specifically non-working expenses, continued to be strongly managed, resulting in a 1.1% reduction ...More Info

Coopers Brewery Limited has announced a record AU$19.5 million profit for the 2006-07 financial year on the back of growing beer sales in Australia and overseas, in a press release, November 8.

The result represents a 53.5% increase over the 2005-06 profit of AU$12.7 million, although that figure was impacted by costs associated with the defence of the attempted takeover bid by Lion Nathan in 2005.

Coopers Managing Director, Dr Tim Cooper, said turnover in 2006-07 had reached a record AU$141 million, 8.2% above the AU$130 million in 2005-06.

“Beer sales in 2006-07 have again shown solid growth with total sales rising by 7.9% from 2005-06,” Dr Cooper said.

“On the national stage, Coopers now accounts for 3.2% of all beer sales with growth of 22% in beer volume in the eastern states and Western Australia. Total beer sales in Australia generally have been static and for Coopers to be able to continue to grow its sales and achieve a record profit is a testament to the company’s strength.”

Dr Cooper said much of the company’s strong performance nationally could be attributed to the efforts of Coopers’ distribution company, Premium Beverages Pty Ltd, which is responsible for distribution across Australia, apart from South Australia and ...More Info

Baltika Breweries, the leader on the Russian beer market, announces its financial results for the first 9 months of 2007, in a press release, November 8.

1. Baltika Breweries delivers stable strong financial results

In the first 9 months of 2007 total sales of the Company amounted to 34.9 mln hl (+22.1% compared to the same reporting period last year), beer sales grew by +22.4% up to 34.5 mln hl.

In Q3 2007, the Company’s sales came to 13.1 mln hl (+11.4% compared to the reporting period last year), and sales of beer were 12.9 mln hl (+11.4%).

2. The company continues to grow faster than the Russian beer market

According to the Company’s estimates, the growth of the Russian beer market in 9 months of 2007 amounted to 17%. Market showed high growth for 9M Y2007 due to continuous development of category consumption, primarily in less saturated regional markets, and also influenced by several factors, including mild weather, particularly in Q1, and regulatory changes consequences to alcoholic drinks.

In 9 months of 2007 Baltika Breweries grew ahead of the market and increased its share up to 37.7% (+1.4%).

Anton Artemiev, President of Baltika Breweries, said: ‘Baltika's focus on market innovation and continued improvement on operational ...More Info

Lion Nathan announced that it has entered into an agreement to purchase Tasmanian brewer J Boag & Son Pty Limited (J Boag & Son) for $325 million from Philippines based San Miguel Corporation (San Miguel), according to Lion Nathan’s press release, November 8.

The agreement is conditional on regulatory approvals (ACCC and FIRB) and the completion of Kirin Brewery Company’s purchase of National Foods (which was also announced today and is expected to be completed by 31 December 2007). Subject to these conditions, Lion Nathan is expected to assume full control of J Boag & Son in early January 2008.

Lion Nathan CEO Rob Murray said: “This is an acquisition offering strong strategic value. Boag's is a company with great brands and a reputation for brewing excellence and its market focus is highly complementary to Lion Nathan.

“We intend to invest to grow the business. As owner of the J Boag & Son brands and the distribution channel, we intend to leverage our sales coverage and focus, and our distribution reach to make these great beers available to more Australians.

“Our first priority will be to engage with local employees and the community to learn more about the business. We have great respect for ...More Info

SABMiller, the FTSE 100 brewer, is taking advice from Morgan Stanley and Dresdner Kleinwort as it considers whether to become involved in the Scottish & Newcastle (S&N) bid battle, The Times reported November 9.

S&N, which owns the John Smith’s and Kronenbourg 1664 brands, has been tipped as a possible target for the likes of SABMiller and Anheuser-Busch after rebuffing a joint approach worth almost £9 billion from Carlsberg of Denmark and Heineken, the Dutch brewer.

It is understood that although SABMiller has made no firm decisions, it is considering options ranging from making an outright bid for S&N to attempting to acquire its interests in India and China or its 50 per cent stake in Baltic Beverages Holding (BBH).

A source close to the situation insisted that neither Morgan Stanley nor Dresdner Kleinwort had been formally hired by SABMiller. “It’s not a question of how it should get involved but whether it should get involved. No decision has been taken.”

The possible involvement of SABMiller comes amid continuing acrimony between S&N and Carlsberg, its joint venture partner in BBH. S&N claims that the Danish group’s actions have breached their BBH agreement and has launched an arbitration claim to buy Carlsberg’s 50 per cent.

The ...More Info

Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. ("FEMSA") announced a US$ 392 million investment for the construction of two new plants in Meoqui, in the northern state of Chihuahua in Mexico: US$ 275 million for a brewery and US$ 117 million for a glass bottle facility, according to company’s press release, November 7.

In a first stage, the new brewery will have annual production capacity of 5 million hectoliters, an increase of 15% over FEMSA Cerveza's current capacity in Mexico. The first stage of the glass bottle plant will have installed capacity of 700 million bottles per year, an increase of 54% over current levels. The investment will be made during 2008 and 2009, and both plants are expected to begin operations in 2010.

In a second stage to be launched to the extent required based on the evolution of our own demand trends, we anticipate the ability to make an additional investment of approximately US$ 315 million for incremental capacity of 5 million hectoliters per year for the brewery and a doubling of capacity in the glass bottle facility, reaching an installed capacity of 1,400 million glass bottles per year. These projects will allow our Mexico and export beer operations to continue ...More Info

Apart from the precarious supply situation of malting barley, malt capacities will not be enough for two or three years to come, according to analysts, November 2.

There are quite a few announcements of new constructions, but as per our information only factories in Germany 75.000 tons, Spain 100.000 tons, Russia 100.000 tons, Argentina 140.000 tons will be operational in 2008. Further projects for Belgium, France, Germany, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine and Australia will be realized between 2009 and 2011.

Euromalt, representing the E.U. Malting Industry, has decided to issue a memorandum on the 2007 European malting barley crop:

“Last year Euromalt published a memorandum explaining the problems that were confronting our industry due to the exceptionally poor E.U. malting barley crop. We all thought that it was a situation that we would not see again for many years to come. We were very wrong. Today the 2007 crop is turning out to be far more complicated than the 2006 crop. This year we are having to deal with a very poor European malting barley crop and at the same time, cope with a world grain market that is dramatically volatile and extremely dangerous due to the fact that there are barely enough supplies of grain to meet demand on a worldwide basis. The consequences on our supply chain will probably be far more reaching than last year’s ‘accident’.

Last year the damage that the summer rains caused was very serious but it was very regional. Crop losses were severe, particularly in Central Europe, and the overall E.U. malting barley supply & demand situation remained extremely tight all through the season. We all learned to live with, what we thought were, ...More Info

The greatest single impact on malting barley markets could arrive from quality problems, according to analysts, November 2. The industry has started to reject deliveries in Northern France, in isolated cases in the U.K. and Germany. It is also a fact that large quantities of spring barley are not acceptable for malting in Austria/Czech/Slovakia/Hungary. Long dormancy, fusarium leading to gushing are reported, and there is a fear of a downfall of germination by spring.

Another interesting market factor is the large amount of malting barley exported from the EU, quantities, which (on paper) we do not have. It is estimated that almost 150.000 tons will be shipped to the backyard countries of the EU, namely Serbia, Croatia, Turkey, North Africa. An unknown amount has been sold to China. Estimates run from 100 to 200.000 tons. Sales figures to Russia are also unclear, it is speculated that 150.000 tons are already contracted, and Russia’s demand is at least double of that number.

Imports are expected to remain very small, Argentina and Uruguay are seen as possible sellers of 1-200.000 tons. A small crop in Australia and high freight rates from Canada seem to exclude those countries from supplies to Europe.

In October acreage estimates of spring barley for 2008 were discussed everywhere: in France minus 10 %, in Germany at first minus 10 %, later corrected to unchanged, in the U.K. unchanged, in Denmark plus 10 %, in the Czech Republic minus 20 %, analysts reported November 2.

In simple words, farmers are fed up with malting barley, they lost money during the crisis years of the malt industry and regularly after poor crops and downgrading of harvested barleys. At the same time wheat proved to be a safe and rewarding crop. A lower acreage must be considered as dangerous, only a very good crop would assure sufficient supplies for our industries. The change of the world’s climate, however, makes weather problems quite possible, therefore any great optimism seems wrong. There is only one hope: declining wheat markets, but a sustained high premium of malting barley may have convinced or will convince farmers to plant malting barley after all.

The USDA reduced its barley world crop estimate to 134,4 Mill. tons, down from 136,9 last year, according to analysts, November 2. It will have to be corrected once more by a smaller Australian production figure. End stocks will drop to 15,7 Mill. tons vs. 20,8 in 2006/07 and 33,2 in 2004/05.

At a recent conference in Berlin it was said that the world is short of 2 Million tons of feed and 1 Million tons of malting barley. High prices should normally lead to rationing, i.e. a smaller usage of barley. It is impossible to replace malting barley for malt production, but the usage of malt can and will be reduced. Rationing is also a fact in the line of feed barley, where usage is slowing in the EU, Canada and Australia, after use of cheaper feed materials and the reduction of livestock numbers. It is even attempted in Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest importer of feed barley, by changes of import subsidies and local prices.

Prices for both feed and malting barley classes continue to slip in response to lower market prices for corn, wheat and soybeans, according to Marvin Zutz, executive director of the Minnesota Barley Growers Association, Farm & Ranch Guide reported November 8.

Zutz also noted that most export orders are now filled, but there remains a strong interest in U.S. feed barley in many parts of the world where cropping issues have created short supplies.

“Parties in both Japan and Europe continue to be interested in U.S. barley,” Zutz said. “That's mainly due to the GMO issue with corn and their need for feed grains.”

Most of the maltsters now have their contracts for malting barley out for growers to review. Producers appreciate this, Zutz said, since it gives them more time to formulate their 2008 cropping plans. In the past, contracts usually weren't issued until January or February of the growing year. The malting barley contracts also have a new feature this year - variable pricing.

“Anheuser-Busch is leading the way this year and they are offering contracts that are tied to wheat future prices,” Zutz noted. “This will make the contracts more competitive with the other commodities and should help in buying acres ...More Info