Lithuania: Lithuanian brewery, Ragutis, 83% controlled by Finland's Olvi, plans to increase its authorized share capital six times, from 6.452 million to 39.253 million litas (EUR 11.4 million), through additional contributions from shareholders, Baltic News Service communicated on April 13.

Ragutis CEO Vytautas Meistas said that the company's general meeting of shareholders voted in favor of the share capital increase on April 12. The new shares will be offered to shareholders in proportion to their existing holdings. "Each shareholder of the company will be entitled to subscribe for five new shares per existing share," Meistas told BNS. He said that, among other reasons, the company needed to raise additional capital to finance its investment plans. "We are planning investments in the further modernization of the brewery, in expanding warehouses and improving the quality of our products and efficiency," Meistas said.

The company, which is based in the second-biggest city of Kaunas, managed to trim losses to 4.58 million litas in 2004, from losses of 6.23 million litas in 2003. Its annual sales grew by 13.8 percent to 64.9 million litas last year. Ragutis is among the country's three largest beer producers. It held a 10.18 % market share last year, according to data from the Lithuanian Brewers' Association. The company also produces cider and alcoholic carbonates, also known as alcopops, and imports Aura juice and Heineken beer. Olvi controls an 83 % stake in Ragutis through A.Le Coq, its Estonian subsidiary. (EUR 1 = LTL 3.45)

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