Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB, Latin America's largest beverage company, said fourth-quarter profit increased 58 percent on higher soft-drink sales in Mexico and Brazil and a December increase in beer prices, according to Bloomberg, February 19.

Net majority income climbed to 2.65 billion pesos ($243 million), or 74 centavos a local share, from 1.68 billion pesos, the Monterrey, Mexico-based brewer of Dos Equis and Tecate said today in a statement. Sales rose 10 percent to 38.8 billion pesos.

Earnings were ``driven by the recovery on Mexican operations,'' Tufic Salem, an analyst with Credit Suisse Group, wrote in a report before the earnings release. He also cited rising soft-drink sales in Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela.

Femsa rose 1.4 pesos, or 3.1 percent, to 45.89 pesos in Mexican stock exchange trading at 4:10 p.m. New York time. The stock has climbed 10 percent this year.

The beer unit had sales of 9.8 billion pesos, an 8.5 percent increase from a year earlier. Beer revenue in Mexico rose 7 percent to 7.15 billion pesos, while sales by volume rose 6 percent to 7.17 million hectoliters (189.4 million gallons). In Brazil, sales rose 8.7 percent to 1.93 billion pesos, and exports jumped 24 percent to ...More Info

For Carlsberg, 2007 was a year of significant progress and strong results, both in terms of operations and strategy, according to its press release, February 19.

• Organic volume growth of 11% and rising market shares in most important markets across all geographical segments.

• Net revenue climbed 9% to DKK 44.8bn (DKK 41.1bn in 2006). Calculated in local currencies net revenue climbed 10%.

• Operating profit was DKK 5,262m (DKK 4,046m in 2006). Beverage activities generated DKK 5,001m, representing marked progress of 25% on last year. BBH, Eastern Europe and Western Europe all made positive contributions to the development.

• Net profit rose to DKK 2,297m (DKK 1,884m in 2006), with earnings per share rising 22% as a result.

• As last year, it is recommended to the Annual General Meeting that a dividend be paid of DKK 6.00 per share.

• Based on the current business, Carlsberg anticipates operating profit of approx. DKK 5.9bn for 2008, with approx. DKK 5.6bn of this coming from beverage activities.

Net profit is expected to increase by approx. 20%.

"The results for 2007 are very satisfactory and confirm that Carlsberg is in good shape. The marked increases in raw material prices will make 2008 a challenging year, so ...More Info

China Resources Enterprises Ltd, SABMiller's partner in the country, expects beer sales and capacity to both rise 20 percent in 2008 as it races to meet rising nationwide consumption, according to Reuters, February 19.

Executive Director Francis Kwong conceded that was a conservative target -- it would mark a sharp sales slowdown from 2007 -- that reflected the increasing maturity of a galloping beer market that's already the world's largest by volume.

China's largest brewer expanded sales in 2007 of its premium "Snow" and other brands by 30 percent to about 7 million kilolitres. That easily outpaced the industry: since 2004, the market had racked up 10 percent-plus growth annually.

Kwong said the country's 10 top brands now accounted for 70 percent market share -- a far cry from years past when every Chinese province hosted a number of strong, competing brands.

"This year is the Olympics year, which should give our sales a boost. We'd spent a lot preparing for that," Kwong told reporters invited to tour China Resources' brewery in the industrial city of Dongguan.

But analysts say China Resources' margins are coming under pressure. The firm, which operated capacity for 10 million kilolitres of beer in 2007, had raised prices for its ...More Info

Habeco, Vietnam's second-largest brewer, plans to raise at least $108 million from selling 15 percent of its shares in an upcoming initial public offering, the stock exchange said, according to Reuters, February 18.

Habeco, or the Hanoi Beer Alcohol Beverage Corp, would seek to sell 34.77 million shares at a starting price of 50,000 dong ($3.11) each, the Hanoi Securities Trading Centre .HASTCI said in a statement.

The exchange did not give a date of the share auction or say what Habeco would use the proceeds for. Habeco has said it would hold the IPO by February.

Based on the starting price, Habeco would be valued at $720 million.

Last year, Vietnamese authorities approved plans by Habeco and Carlsberg (CARLb.CO: Quote, Profile, Research) to form a strategic partnership under which Carlsberg has been reserved for a 10 percent stake in Habeco, the Danish firm has said.

Habeco has yet to announce when it planned a domestic listing. Initial public offerings and stock market trading debuts are separate affairs in Vietnam.

Habeco, which brews Hanoi Beer, a brand popular in northern Vietnam, expects its gross profit to soar nearly nine-fold to 544.7 billion dong this year and revenues to rise 24.5 percent to 4.16 trillion dong, a ...More Info

Heineken Holding N.V. announced a 23% organic growth in net profit for the twelve months to end December 2007, in a press release, February 20. This performance is in line with Heineken’s forecast published in August 2007.

Net profit (beia) for 2007 amounted to EUR 1,119 million with EBIT (beia) growing 20% organically to EUR 1,846 million. Once again, Heineken was able to drive growth in all key metrics across virtually all regions.

At the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of Heineken N.V. in April 2008, Heineken N.V. will propose a 17% increase in dividend for 2007 to EUR0.70 per share (2006: EUR 0.60).

For 2008, Heineken expects another year of positive organic net profit growth driven by the shift towards premium beer, strong consumer demand for its brands, improved pricing and a continued focus on cost control.

The net result of Heineken Holding N.V.’s participating interest in Heineken N.V. for 2007 amounts to €404 million.

Record organic profit growth: Net Profit (beia) increased organically by 22.6%, driven by the 20% organic increase in EBIT (beia). Reported Net Profit of Heineken N.V. was 33% lower, reflecting EUR 301 million of net exceptional charges, compared with EUR 291 million of net exceptional gains in 2006.

Strong revenue ...More Info

The S&N business drew strength from its diversified portfolio and geographic spread in 2007, according to S&N press release, February 19. The business enjoys balance across western and developing markets, its portfolios of mainstream, premium and speciality beer brands, and its beer and nonbeer offerings.

Highlights - Continuing Operations

* Revenue up +7.9% at £4,150m * Operating profit up +5.7% at £560m: profit before tax level at £444m * EPS up +0.6% at 34.9p * Unrivalled portfolio delivers value growth across western markets * Excellent performance from our cider brands: revenue +21.2% * Outstanding results for BBH: volume +22.7%, operating profit +42.6% * Continued strong growth in India: volume +14.4% * Free cash flow of £332m

Review of Operations

Margins and cost savings

UK

UK margins fell to 11.4% in 2007 from 12.4% in 2006, with operating profit down £18m to £213m. Of this reduction, £9m relates to higher input costs, £10m is the net impact from the introduction of the smoking ban and £19m mainly relates to lower than- expected volumes over the key summer trading period and the negative ...More Info

Foster's Group Ltd, Australia's biggest alcoholic drinks company, posted its slowest growth in first-half net profit in several, as U.S. wine demand slowed and the strong dollar crimped earnings, Reuters reported February 18.

Foster's said net profit before one-offs for the six months to December 31 rose 6 percent to A$393.5 million ($361 million) from A$371.4 million, helped by a strong performance in Australia and Europe.

That beat market forecasts of A$384.5 million before one-offs, according to a Reuters survey of eight analysts, but was well below the double-digit pace of recent years and the 22 percent rise in the six months to June 2007.

Net profit after tax and including items fell 28 percent to A$398.6 million.

Foster's said Australian beer, wine and spirits earnings before interest and tax increased 9.4 percent to A$433.4 million, including a one-off gain of A$17.8 million on the sale of properties.

Earnings before interest and tax in the United States slumped by 32.2 percent to A$98.3 million, hurt by softer sales for Australian wine, increased input costs and a high Australian dollar that reduced earnings translated into local currency. In constant currency terms, earnings fell 11.9 percent.

In Australia, Foster's mainstream beers have come under pressure as consumers switch ...More Info

UK maltsters are likely to purchase around 1.86 million tonnes of barley from the 2008 harvest according to the Maltsters Association of Great Britain (MAGB), Farmer’s Guardian reported February 19.

In England demand is equally split between winter and spring varieties with the greatest demand (60 per cent) in the 1.65-1.85 per cent nitrogen band.

In Scotland almost 92 per cent of demand is for spring varieties, with 56 per cent of demand for under 1.55 per cent nitrogen barley.

Chris D. Powell(1), David E. Quain(2) and Katherine A. Smart(1)
(1)School of Biological and Molecular Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Headington, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK
(2)Coors Brewers, Technical Centre, PO Box 12, Cross Street, Burton-on-Trent DE14 1XH, UK


Abstract
Ageing in budding yeast is not determined by chronological lifespan, but by the number of times an individual cell is capable of dividing, termed its replicative capacity. As cells age they are subject to characteristic cell surface changes. Saccharomyces cerevisiae reproduces asexually by budding and as a consequence of this process both mother and daughter cell retain chitinous scar tissue at the point of cytokinesis. Daughter cells exhibit a frail structure known as the birth scar, while mother cells display a more persistent bud scar. The number of bud scars present on the cell surface is directly related to the number of times a cell has divided and thus constitutes a biomarker for replicative cell age. It has been proposed that the birth scar may be subject to stretching caused by expansion of the daughter cell; however, no previous analysis of the effect of cell age on birth or bud scar size has been reported. This paper provides evidence that scar tissue expands with the cell during growth. It is postulated that symmetrically arranged breaks in the bud scar allow these rigid chitinous structures to expand without compromising cellular integrity.
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