Czech Republic: Brewery Bernard produced 14% more beer in H1 2005

Rodinny pivovar Bernard produced more than 67,400 hl of beer in Jan-June, 14 % more on the year, and sales added 22 % to CZK 96.7 million, spokesman Zdenek Mikulasek told CTK news on July 21, according to Prague Daily Monitor. "We are successful at home and are expanding abroad," he said.

First-half exports accounted for a tenth of the output, targeting mainly Slovakia. Exports are slightly rising, said Mikulasek. Bernard is supplied to customers in Sweden, Spain, Russia, Britain and Denmark.

In June, the brewer's output was the highest since the early 1990s, also thanks to better weather, said Mikulasek. This year's investment in upgrading the technologies exceeded CZK 8 million.

Last year's output reached 127,700 hl of beer, 4 % more against a year earlier. Sales went up by 17 percent to CZK 176 million.

The brewer employs 89 people. It owns a malt house, Sladovna Bernard, in Rajhrad near Brno in southern Moravia, with annual malt production at 6,500 tonnes.