Poland: SABMiller's Polish brewer Kompania Piwowarska boosts sales by 10.7% in 2006

Kompania Piwowarska, Poland's largest beer producer held by London-based SABMiller, sold more than 12.4 mln hectolitres of beer last year, up 10.7% from 2005, giving the company a market share of 38.3% in Poland, the company said in a statement Wednesday, according to Interfax Central Europe, February 7.

"In the fourth quarter of 2006 Kompania Piwowarska’s sales continued to be at a very high level, nearly unchanged from the summer months,” the company said. "In that quarter sales reached 2.8 mln hectolitres, up 14.5% year on year (y/y)."

In the second quarter of 2006 the company's market share was estimated at 37%. Over the entire 2006, Kompania Piwowarska boosted its market share by 1.3 percentage points, strengthening its top spot on the Polish market.

The company also tripled its exports in 2006 to 180,000 hectolitres. Main export markets were Britain, Germany, Ireland, and the United States, which have large Polish communities. The result makes Kompania Piwowarska, Poland's largest beer exporter.

The company also said it was expanding its brewing capacities in Tychy, southern Poland, from the current 5.5 mln to 8 mln hectolitres a year. After the completion of the investment in Tychy, the company's total production capacities will rise from the current 12.5 mln to 15 mln hectolitres a year. The investment, expected to cost PLN 185 mln, will make Kompania Piwowarska the largest European brewer of the SABMiller group and the largest brewer in Poland.

In 2005, Kompania Piwowarska sold more than 11.22 mln hectolitres of beer, up from 9.96 mln in 2004. In the fiscal year between April 2005 and March 2006, the company made PLN 570 mln in net profits on revenues of PLN 3.8 bln.

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