E-Malt.com Flash 20a. May 16

Japan: Overall beer and beer-like drinks shipments increased the first time in 4 months

In April 2005 overall shipments of beer and beer-like alcoholic beverages from the five major Japan’s breweries increased by 3.3 %...more info

Philippines: San Miguel Corp., posted net income grew 2.3 % in Q1 2005

Philippine San Miguel Corp., posted on May 17 that its net income grew just 2.3 % in the first quarter of the year. The company reported a net income of 1.78 billion pesos ($33 million) in the first quarter, compared with 1.74 billion pesos in the same period of 2004.

Revenues grew 21 % to 47.2 billion pesos in the first quarter, while operating income rose 16 percent to 3.84 billion pesos. San Miguel said it expected capital spending of 15 billion pesos this year. Domestic beer sales volume grew about 2 % in the first quarter, the sources said, due to stocking up by retailers before a price hike on Feb. 1 that averaged around 13 percent.

"It's in line with our expectations of flattish profit growth this year," said Leo Venezuela, analyst at ATR Kim Eng Securities Inc. "Taken as a whole, most of the acquisitions last year would have some positive effect on San Miguel, but on a stand-alone basis, they are very small compared to the existing businesses."

Some analysts had expected San Miguel's profits to have slid without the election-related spending boost in the same period of last year, Reuters commented. "Many challenges prevail in our current operating environment, not least the impact of higher raw material, fuel and transport costs and higher excise taxes," Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Eduardo Cojuangco told shareholders. Cojuangco said higher financing charges from a run of international acquisitions had also slowed profitability. ...more info

Canada: Labatt plans to increase is to investing $50 million in Montreal brewery (LaSalle)

Labatt Canada announced on May 16 it plans to invest more than $50 million to upgrade its brewery in LaSalle, Quebec, (Montreal brewery) in 2005-2006...more info

USA: One-third of US brewers up 10% or more in 2004

USA Brewers Association announced on May 18 that one third of US brewers grew by more than 10 % last year with regional brewers leading the way, according to data collected by the Brewers Association. These 450 fast-growing brewers helped propel the craft segment to overall growth of 7.2% in 2004.

"Craft beer is hot," said Charlie Papazian, President of the Brewers Association. "Today, Americans increasingly turn to the flavor and diversity of locally-made brews when they drink beer."

Despite poor performance by mass market brands and a sharp drop in import sales growth, craft beers-those made with all-malt formulations by nearly 1400 US brewers-have enjoyed strong performance over the past 18 months. Indeed, a number have posted double-digit growth for several consecutive years.

"While the overall craft segment grew just one to three percent each year from 2000 to 2003, a number of individual players thrived during this time," says Paul Gatza, director of the Brewers Association. "Many have three and four consecutive years of double-digit growth."

Brewers Association data show that 29 brewing companies grew 10 percent or more in each of four consecutive years starting in 2001. In addition to these 29, another 37 brewers have posted three consecutive years of double-digit growth starting in 2002. An additional 69 brewers hit double digits two years in a row starting in 2003. ...more info

Brazil & Canada: Molson Coors announces changes for Brazilian operations to diminish financial risk

Molson Coors announced on May 18 that in a recent meeting of its board of directors, Molson Coors Brewing Company reviewed its Brazilian business unit...more info

Russia: The Government proposes to raise beer excise rate by 9%

On May 12 the Russian Government considered the draft Federal Law “On amending of Article 22 and 26 of Part 2 of the Russian Tax Code”...more info

Malt News

Argentina: Cargill Malt will start the construction of a new malt plant in Punta Alvear, Argentina

Cargill Malt announced on May 18 the construction of a new 145,000-metric tonnes per annum malt plant in Punta Alvear, Argentina...more info

Germany & Russia: Malt imports from Germany may well be renewed

The Agricultural Attaché of the Russian Embassy, Mihail Lyuboserdov disclosed last week...more info

Barley News

Australia: A new national barley breeding program is aiming to help growers boost production

Australia’s 6.6 million tonne barley industry must more than double production, increase average yields from 2 t/ha to 2.6 t/ha...more info

Hops News

Belgium: Poperinge - Hop Festival

Poperinge, charming hop metropolis in the southwest of West Flanders, Belgium kindly invites you to its triennial Hop and Beer Festival to be held on September 16 – 17 and 18th.

Poperinge looks forward to hosting you and remember: the next Hop and Beer Festival is only in 2008, September 21st.

Hops found their way into Poperinge through the abbey of St.-Bertin’s, St.Omer (France) as a valuable alternative for the disappearing cloth trade, consequence of a quarrel with neighbouring weaver Ypres about 1322.

The hop plant is a perennial and climbing plant, which reaches along the climbing wire a height of 7m. Its fruit, the hop cone, contains lupulin, a yellowish powder that gives beer its typical taste and which also acts as a natural preservative for our national pride: beer. Hops also found their way into decoration and the food and pharmaceutical industry as a preservative element (hops guarantee a full night’s sleep, counter the effects during the menopause ...)

Until 1964, hops were picked by hand and the harvest – traditionally in September – caused a migration to Poperinge : some 10 000 foreign hop pickers assisted the local population. The harvest had an economic dimension in a not so industrially developed area : the wages were mostly spent on buying coal for the coming winter. ...more info