E-Malt.com News article: Latvia: Leading brewer Aldaris posts 21% decrease in turnover in 2014

Latvian joint-stock company Aldaris posted EUR 28.62 million in turnover in 2014, a decrease of 21% compared to 2013, while the company's losses decreased threefold to EUR 3.40 million, reports LETA, according to information from Firmas.lv.

The company's turnover in 2013 was EUR 36.35 million but losses – EUR 10.28 million.

Aldaris CEO Margus Kastein told LETA that the decline in turnover was due to the overall situation on the beer market and the changes in the company's strategy to reduce its share in the segment of beer sold in two-litre PET bottles.

Kastein also notes that last year Aldaris was the leading beer brewery in Latvia, taking about 30% of the entire beer market. The change of the business strategy, which started in 2013 and focuses on craft brewing, allowed the company to improve profitability by 15%.

Total log-term investments in the company's development were EUR 3.2 million, a 28% increase from 2013. Following the market trends, 13 new products were introduced in 2014.

The company plans to take at least 30% of the craft beer market segment in three years, up from the current 20% share of the Latvian beer market. Investments in production of craft beer will allow the company to increase profitability, improve competitiveness, and strengthen its market leader's position in the craft beer segment.

In 2013, Aldaris announced that it will focus on exclusive, high-quality and "Premium" beer production at the historic Aldaris brewery in Latvia.

Aldaris is owned by the Danish beer production group Carlsberg. Carlsberg controls Baltic Beverages Holdings company, which owns 19 beer breweries in seven Eastern European countries.


22 August, 2015