Czech Republic: Starobrno brewery’s sales up 7.4% in 2006

Czech brewery Starobrno, a unit of the Heineken group, made net profit worth Kc107 million in 2006, the best result in its history despite hefty investment in a new type of bottles, spokeswoman Katerina Eliasova said, according to CTK, March 2.

Starobrno raised its market share in the Czech Republic from 5.1 to 5.3 percent to become the third largest producer in the country with the highest beer consumption per capita in the world.

Sales rose by 7.4 percent year-on-year to Kc1.444 billion. Beer sales in the Czech Republic added Kc75 million to Kc1.287 billion.

The company sold 1.04 million hectolitres of beverages, up 8 percent year-on-year. Beer sales grew by 50,000 hectolitres to 914,000 hectolitres.

Sales abroad reached 185,000 hectolitres. The amount includes 130,000 hl produced within licensed production in the Heineken Slovensko plant in Slovakia.

Exports grew to 55,000 from 41,000 hectolitres and headed above all for Sweden, Austria, Germany, Bulgaria, Russia and Britain.

The brewery invested Kc115 million in 2006. The entire sum was financed from Starobrno's own resources. The brewery plans to complete the reconstruction of its brewing house this year to become one of the most modern breweries in the world, said Eliasova.

Starobrno, controlled by Heineken since 2003, employed 399 staff in 2006, some 2.4 percent fewer than in 2005.

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