Poland: Zywiec brewery gains 5.2 per cent in sales in H1 2008 surpassing Poland’s total beer market

Grupa Zywiec increased beer sales by 5.2 percent in the first half of the year, Puls Biznesu reported on August 28.

Beer consumption in Poland is 93 litres per capita, and experts say the market is unlikely to grow much more.

“The whole beer market in Poland grew 3.8 percent in the first half of the year. Our company managed to reach 5.2 percent sales growth, mainly thanks to the following brands: Zywiec, Warka and Specjal”, Chris Barrow, Grupa Zywiec CEO said.

The company increased beer sales by 314,000 hl against the first six months of 2007, to 6.1 mln hl. Sales grew 7.9 percent to PLN 1.844 bln. However, the net income of the group dropped by PLN 18.6 mln to PLN 209 mln. The drop was imputed to higher prices of materials, packages and energy, as well as wage raises.