Żywiec pours on investments

Beer producer Grupa Żywiec will invest zł.200 million on increasing its production capacity in four of its five breweries in Poland. The investment will take place in the breweries in Żywiec, Elblšg, Leżajsk and Warka, increasing the company's production capacity from the current 12.5 million hl annually to 14 million hl. The breweries should reach this capacity by the end of Q1 of 2008. "We will be ready in time for the 2008 summer season," the company's president Chris Barrow said.

Apart from the investment in production capacity, the beer producer will also open a financial and accounting center by the end of Q1 of 2008. The center will provide comprehensive financial and accounting services.

Company officials say that all of the brands recorded notable growth in sales in H1. Warka's sales grew by 31 percent year-on-year, expanding to areas where it wasn't present before such as Wielkopolska, Pomorze and Silesia, on the back of the Piwiarnia Warecka pub chain. Heineken experienced a 21-percent sales increase, driven by the introduction of the five-liter keg.

The group's flagship brand Żywiec increased its sales by 15 percent. Its export sales increased by 47 percent year-on-year, growing especially fast in Germany, the UK and Ireland. "We see a lot more potential for export growth, mainly on the back of of Polish immigrants," Barrow said.

Grupa Żywiec had revenues of zł.1.71 billion in the first six months of the year, which represented a nine-percent increase year-on-year. The group's profits grew by 69 percent in the same period, reaching zł.243.6 million.