Germany: Oetker is keeping its beer interests

German mixed conglomerate Oetker said on June 28 that strong growth at its shipping division helped the conglomerate to reach combined sales of EUR 6.4 billion, a gain of 26 %, according to Deutsche Presse-Agentur news. The company announced meanwhile that its soft-drink unit was up for sale.

The newspaper Handelsblatt was to appear on June 29, 2005 with a report that Oetker's beverages division, RB Brauholding, would dispose of soda water and cola brands while keeping its beer interests.

A premium-brand water, Selters, which is mostly served in expensive restaurants, would also be retained. The paper quoted the chief executive of the division, Ulrich Kallmeyer, as saying units with 114 million euros of annual sales could be disposed of.

Oetker, which began as a manufacturer of baking powder and expanded into ready-mixed foods, is Germany's biggest brewing group and owner of the Hamburg Sued shipping line which accounts for 40 per cent of sales. It also has banking, insurance and hotel interests.

Chief executive August Oetker said Tuesday at company headquarters in Bielefeld that sales growth net of acquisitions and exchange rate changes had amounted to 13.7 per cent. Oetker does not release earnings figures, but he said, "It was a good year."

E-malt.com, la fuente de información global para los profesionales de la industria cervecera y de malteado. Los boletines quincenales de E-malt.com incluyen las últimas noticias de la industria, estadísticas en gráficos y tablas, precios mundiales de cebada y malta, y otra información relevante. Haga clic aquí para obtener acceso completo a E-malt.com. Si usted es un cliente de Castle Malting, puede obtener acceso gratuito al sitio web y publicaciones de E-malt.com. Contáctenos para obtener más información en marketing@castlemalting.com.