Germany: Warsteiner brewery reports marginal decline in sales in 2021
Germany's Warsteiner brewery closed 2021 with a marginal decline in sales (-1.1%) compared with 2020, the European Supermarket Magazine reported on January 19.
The year was marked by a month-long lockdown, a large part of the gastronomy shut, and numerous cancelled events, due to the pandemic.
"Given the extremely difficult economic circumstances, this is definitely a success for our company," Helmut Hörz, CFO and chairman of the management board of the Warsteiner Group said of the company's performance.
Beer sales in Germany witnessed a 2.7% year-on-year decline in the first half of 2021, according to data from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).
Breweries and beer warehouses based in Germany sold around 4.2 billion litres of beer in this period, excluding alcohol-free beers, malt drinks, and those imported from countries outside the European Union (EU).
The company saw an increased demand for non-alcoholic beers, with sales growing 19.7% in 2021.
Sales of alcoholic Warsteiner beers fell by 2.4% overall, the brewer added.
The company’s export sales increased by 15.5% during the financial year.
Hörz added that the company “cannot be satisfied” with its business development.
"We have a clear strategy, which we will now continue to implement together and consistently,” he added.
Elsewhere, the Brewers of Europe, a non-profit body representing more than 12,000 breweries, said in December that Europe must continue to support the beer sector as the continent faced another wave of COVID-19 pandemic.
Combined beer sales in 31 European markets fell in 2020 from 385.5 to 354.5 million hectolitres, according to the 2021 European Beer Trends Statistics Report.
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