1. Trading info

At this moment there are two OFFERS for 3500 tons of malt on the trading portal www.e-malt.com

• Offer for 1000-2000 mtons of malt, 6RW, Esterel, crop 2002, bulk, delivery 1/4/2003 - 31/7/2003, at EUR 272.00 /mton, FOB Antwerp. (to see and make a bid to the malt offer, please click here to view code MF2103P1112)
  
  
• Offer for 500-1500 mtons of malt, 2RS, Average price, crop 2002, bulk, delivery 1/4/2003 - 31/5/2003, at EUR 287.00 /mton, FOB Antwerp. (to see and make a bid to the malt offer, please click here to view code MF2103P1000)
  
  

 Top Industry News 

• The Danish brewer, Bryggerigruppen A/S, has announced a net profit of DKr153m (EUR 20.6m) for 2002... Click here
  
  
• SABMiller plc (SABMiller) announced on March 18, 2003 that its wholly owned subsidiary, The South African Breweries Ltd (SAB)... Click here
  
  
• The Belgian brewing combine, Interbrew, posted a 13% fall in net profit for 2002 which it attributed principally to... Click here
  
  
• Russian brewery, Baltic Beverage Holding (BBH), has claimed that its brand, Baltika, is now number two best-selling beer in Europe... Click here
  
  
• Ukraine increased exported volumes of beer in 2002 by 16.6% up to 108 million litres, Ukrpivo Association reported... Click here

More news is available on site www.e-malt.com  

• The Danish Brewery Group (Bryggerigruppen A/S) initiated negotiations with the employees of the Group's brewery in Randers with a view to a closure of the brewery ...more info



• Datamonitor's John Band examines beer-drinking habits in Ireland. The global market for stouts (very heavy, dark beers - most famously Guinness) was worth $6.3 billion in 2002 ...more info



• The Finnish Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry warns that the Finnish brewing industry could suffer severely as private import restrictions ease at the same time as its neighbour Estonia joins the EU ...more info



• Credit Suisse First Boston beverage analyst Andrew Conway trimmed his earnings view on Adolph Coors Co and cut volume forecasts on Coors and top brewer Anheuser-Busch ...more info



• Interbrew's new boss said on Wednesday the brewer would ease up on its spending spree to focus on increasing its business internally in an apparent move to ease investor concerns about its costly acquisition strategy ...more info



• Suntory and Sapporo, the leading Japanese brewers, have followed the initiative of Kirin and leader, Asahi, in announcing that they will raise their happoshu prices ...more info



• Dutch brewer, Heineken NV, the world's third-largest brewer, announced that it has notified South African Breweries about its decision to terminate the licensing agreement for Heineken beer in South Africa ...more info



• Belgian brewing force Interbrew, the world's fourth-largest brewer reported on March 19, 2003 a 9% growth of its organic earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization ...more info



• Anheuser-Busch is claiming victory in the latest legal clash with rival brewer Budejovicky Budvar over the trademarks Budweiser and Bud ...more info



• Central European Distribution Corporation (CEDC), the European drinks distributor based in USA, has reported a net profit for the year of US$8.3m ...more info



• The Danish brewer Carlsberg A/S’s Board of Directors has elected Povl Krogsgaard-Larsen as its new board chairman in succession to Poul Chr. Matthiesen who has retired ...more info



• Bacardi and partner Anheuser-Busch are following the success of Bacardi Silver with the March launch of Bacardi Silver O3, a malternative ...more info



• Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today it revised its outlook on U.K.-based brewer Scottish & Newcastle PLC (S&N) to negative from stable ...more info



• Joseph Coors, who helped build his grandfather's small local brewery into the nation's third-largest and used his brewery fortune to help finance President Ronald Reagan's political career, has died ...more info




2. Industry news

The Danish brewer, Bryggerigruppen A/S, has announced a net profit of DKr153m (EUR 20.6m) for 2002, up from DKr77m EUR 10.4m) in 2001, a 99% change. Pre-tax profit was up from DKr120m ( EUR16.2m) to DKr228m (EUR30.7m), a 90% change, while operating profit operating profit rose from DKr206m (EUR27.7m) to DKr246m (EUR33.1m) –19% up- on sales of DKr2.778 billion (EUR374.1m), against DKr2.724 billion (EUR366.9m) in 2001. Bryggerigruppen A/S produced about 3.314 million hl of beer during 2002 year, 3% more than in 2001 (3.222 million hl). The company has forecast a pre-tax profit of between DKr210m (EUR28.3m) and DKr235m (EUR31.6m) for 2003.

SABMiller plc (SABMiller) announced on March 18, 2003 that its wholly owned subsidiary, The South African Breweries Ltd (SAB), is to add its own international premium brands, Pilsner Urquell and Miller Genuine Draft to the SAB portfolio on an import basis within the next few weeks, which will broaden its range of beers in South Africa's growing premium segment. "Following the transaction to acquire Miller in 2002, it was inevitable that there would be certain changes. Today I am very excited to be able to announce the introduction of two of our world-renowned brands, Pilsner Urquell, the world's original golden beer, and Miller Genuine Draft, the icon US beer brand, to the South African market. Both these brands will extend further the quality and choice of beers available to South African consumers in the growing premium market," said Peter McLoughlin, Marketing Director of SAB. This announcement follows the ending of the joint venture agreement in South Africa between Heineken NV and SAB Ltd for the brewing and distribution of the Heineken brand. SABMiller has 115 brewing operations and over 69,000 employees, in 24 countries across Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, North and Central America and Asia.

The Belgian brewing combine, Interbrew, posted a 13% fall in net profit for 2002 which it attributed principally to the loss of contributions from Carling, which it sold to the US brewer, Coors, during 2002. Net profit from ordinary activities fell by 13% from EUR 537m to EUR 467m, while EBITDA fell by 9.1% from EUR 1.53 billion to EUR 1.39 billion. In Western Europe, Interbrew said organic volume growth reached 1.9%, while the group achieved organic EBITDA growth of 6.8%. In the Americas, volume grew by 2.1% on an organic basis while organic net turnover growth was 5.1% and organic EBITDA growth reached 12.6%. Emerging markets, which include Eastern European and Asian countries, recorded organic net turnover growth of 5.3%, with organic volume growth of 2.2%. “Interbrew has a truly outstanding portfolio of brands which provide an impressive platform for growth," said John Brock, the group's new chief executive officer. Brock said he believes the group needs to have a greater focus on organic volume growth, integration and synergy capture, "as they are the cornerstones of all successful consumer goods companies". Brock also said that acquisition opportunities will be closely scrutinized "to ensure that they continue to be strategic and, in a more competitive mergers and acquisitions environment, to create real value."

Russian brewery, Baltic Beverage Holding (BBH), has claimed that its brand, Baltika, is now number two best-selling beer in Europe after Heineken. BBH is a Russian-based brewing joint venture between Carlsberg and Scottish & Newcastle (S&N). “Baltika had achieved sales volumes just in excess of 900 million litres in 2002, putting it ahead of the Heineken-owned brand, Amstel, into the number two spot,” BBH's managing director, Christian Ramm-Schmidt, said. Although Heineken remained the clear European best seller with volumes of 12.65 million hl in 2002 it would not be impossible for Baltika even to close that gap, Christian Ramm-Schmidt, said. Meanwhile, Heineken noticed that its sales are better spread over the whole region whereas Baltika sales were concentrated in Russia where it had benefited from consumers switching from drinking vodka to drinking beer. In CIS (countries from the former Soviet Union) and Baltic States BBH controls 15 breweries. In Russia it holds 33% of beer market.

Ukraine increased exported volumes of beer in 2002 by 16.6% up to 108 million litres, Ukrpivo Association reported. Last year, Ukrainian breweries exported beer at a value of US$31.6 million. In Russia was exported 91 million litres of beer. The phenomenon is attributed to the rise of quality of Ukrainian beer. At the same time Ukraine imported 14 million litres of beer in 2002, 39% more than in 2001 (2.65 million litres). The main importer is Russia, which brought in the country about 12 million litres. Ukraine also imports beer from Belgium, Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Ireland and Italy. In 2002 Ukraine produced 31 litres of beer per capita, what means the beer output reached the value of 1985 year (14,98 million hl).