Heady results

Kompania Piwowarska (KP) closed its fiscal year (April 1-March 30) with much improved results and bolder expectations for the future. The Poznań-based brewer increased its sales by 13 percent, to 12.9 million hectoliters, and its net profit amounted to zł.693 million, marking an increase of 22 percent.

According to KP, the main reasons for its successful year were the relatively warm weather throughout the year, improved brand management and better relations with trade partners and customers. "We are very happy with these results and we believe that Polish breweries have excellent development opportunities ahead of them," said Mark Bowman, Kompania Piwowarska's CEO.

Currently KP holds 38 percent of the domestic beer market, up from 37.5 percent last year. In 2007 the company wants to increase its sales by a further four to six percent.

The company's flagship brands, Tyskie and Żubr, held on to their leading market position over the course of the year and their sales revenues were up 10 and 23 percent, respectively. Currently, Tyskie holds 16 percent of the market and is also the number-one Polish beer export, with excellent sales results in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany and the US. KP reported a 200-percent increase in exports over the year.

Despite some analysts' expectations that the price of beer will increase by at least one złoty this summer, KP is not planning a significant price hike. "In fact we already increased our prices by two percent in April, in accordance with the inflation rate, but we don't expect future changes to be any bigger than that," said Paweł Kwiatkowski, KP's Corporate Affairs Director.

KP's good results have led to demands of salary rises from its employees. The management board has offered a 4.2-percent raise. However, members of one trade union in the company have threatened to strike if their demands for a 10-percent raise are not met. Negotiations are ongoing.