The Russian Federal Property Fund announced that it is to hold an auction for selling 25.5% shares of Patra brewery (Ekaterinburg, Russia), Izvestia newspaper reported. 11,135 shares with the nominal price of 1 Russian rouble will be displayed for sale. The initial price of share holding amounts 232.42 million roubles. The requests reception started on March 4, 2003 and will end April 22, 2003. (1 EUR = 34.4324 RUB).

More than 50% of the Patra stock belongs to the brewing concern Patra, 25.5% to the Russian Federal Property Fund. The remaining stock is split among legal entities and private investors.

The brewing company Patra reduced commodity product output last year by 13% in actual factory gate prices to 818.222 million roubles, a company press release reports. Patra turned out 75.25 million litres of product last year, 17.7% less than in 2001. The company reduced beer output, while almost tripling the production and sale of non-alcoholic beverages and mineral water—to 4.37 million litres.

The company paid 144 million roubles in taxes to budgets of different levels. The press release says that the company put in an ISO-9000-standard quality management system last year. Getting the company certified under this standard is planned for sometime in the first half of 2003. The company spent 27 million roubles of both its own and loan funds modernizing production last year. The enterprise installed an automatic multi-stage system for purifying water, an automated pumping station, and expanded the capacity of its boiling facilities.

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