The beer market had its best half-year in 2008, when brewers sold 9.9 million hectoliters, but the crisis caused sales to go down by 16% since then.
After a wobbly start of the year, with three months of decline in a row, the beer industry posted growth of almost 17% in May, helped by the warm weather and the Europa League football final held in Bucharest.
The upward trend continued in June, though at a slower rate (8%). The warm weather and football (European Championship) again drove up beer sales.
Romania’s Brewers Association, whose members are the largest local producers, has yet to announce its own results, but the latest information available from the first quarter show 5% decline.
The first half report of Heineken, the second leading brewer on the local market, says the beer market grew by 7%.
The largest brewers operating in Romania are Ursus, Heineken, Bergenbier, United Romanian Breweries Bereprod (URBB) and Romaqua (Albacher and Dorfer).
Heineken announced single-digit increase in sales for the first half, slightly lower than the market growth of 7%, according to its financial report.
The brewer, whose brand portfolio includes Silva, Ciuc Premium and Golden Brau, posted record profit of EUR43 million last year and ranked second behind Ursus by revenue.
Ursus’ revenue stood at EUR261 million in 2011, beating Heineken by EUR15 million.
Ursus, the local branch of SABMiller, announced its results, too. Its sales volume rose by 15% in the fiscal quarter ended June 30. It has breweries in Timisoara, Cluj-Napoca, Buzau and Brasov (west, northwest, southeast and central Romania).
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)