Beer sales up, but the underlying trend is mixed

Sales increased by 4.4%, but the rate of sales growth has decreased. The board of Polish Breweries, the Association of the Brewery Industry Employers, estimates that after a very bad 2004 when sales increased by a mere 1.43%, 2005 will be more dynamic with sales growing by 3% for the year as a whole. "It is a very optimistic forecast. We remain one of the largest beer producers in Europe. Only the Germans, British, Russians and the Spanish are ahead of us," stated Danuta Gut from Polish Breweries. Żywiec, one of the market leaders, has not published its Q1 results yet. "I can only say that this period was not easy for us," declared company president Nico Nusmeier. Kompania Piwowarska, on the other hand, generated record Q1 revenues. "Our sales exceeded 2 million hl, which was 19.8% higher than in the same period in 2004," announced Karl Lippert, the head of the company's supervisory board. Carlsberg's sales increased by 7%, though the rate of the sales growth decreased. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 7) E.B.