Romania: URSUS Breweries announces 28% increase in turnover for the first half of the year

URSUS Breweries, a subsidiary of SABMiller plc, announced on November 10 that it has recorded strong growth in the first six months of the fiscal year ending in September 2005. In the period April – September 2005, the company’s turnover increased by 28% compared to the same period of the previous year.

6% organic sales volume growth for URSUS Breweries. With a sales volume over 2 million hl recorded in the first half of the fiscal year ending March 2006, URSUS Breweries holds 30% of the total sales volume registered by “Berarii Romaniei” Association’s members in the same period, which accounts for an estimated total market share of 22% of the overall Romanian beer market.

Positive results for the brands of URSUS Breweries. URSUS continues to maintain its leading position on the premium segment, with a market share of 48%. At the same time, Timisoreana has recorded the highest sales volume increase in the mainstream segment, with 56%. This is a remarkable performance when considering that it is the only brand in this segment which is not offering a PET package. Ciucas registered a sales volume increase of 40% compared to the similar period of last year.

”We are very pleased with the growth of all our key brands. URSUS retained its position as the leading brand in the premium segment, while Timisoreana registered the highest growth in the mainstream segment. We are still in the initial stages of developing Ciucas into a national brand and we are very pleased with its growth over the past six months. The launch of Peroni in the super - premium segment is progressing well and we have successfully achieved our initial objectives” , declares Dieter Schulze, President of URSUS Breweries.

URSUS – the no. 1 beer brand in Romania was acknowledged internationally, receiving several awards in various international competitions: the golden medal awarded to URSUS Premium in the “Monde Selection” competition held in Belgium in May 2005, the silver medal awarded to URSUS Premium in the “Australian International Beer Awards” held in Australia in April 2005 and the silver medal awarded to URSUS Black in “European Beer Star” competition held in Germany last year.

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