Hoop has high hopes for Woda Grodziska

Hoop, one of the country''s leading producers of beverages and mineral water, has signed a contract to acquire a controlling stake in Woda Grodziska (WG), a bottling plant, with the transaction to be completed with the company's own capital. Hoop also announced plans to purchase a bottling plant, which it currently leases, in Iwiny. Following the acquisition of WG, the company plans to introduce the Woda Grodziska brand name to the national market, thus increasing its share of the domestic mineral water market, of which it is currently estimated to control 4.7% through its Arctic brand. "Acquisitions and investments into existing production facilities will allow us to boost our production capacity by 50% and the take-over of WG will create a potential launch pad into the German market. We are also holding negotiations concerning the acquisition of a bottling facility in Slovakia," said the deputy president of Hoop, Marek Jutkiewicz. Last year the company recorded net profits of zl. 12.81 million with revenues reaching zl. 330.8 million. After the first six month of 2002, Hoop had zl. 11.71 million in net profits on revenues of zl. 183.2 million. (Puls Biznesu, p. 7) A.K.