Turkish brewer’s net profit down 17 percent
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Referans
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 09, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Turkish brewer Anadolu Efes on Tuesday posted a 17 percent fall in 2008 net profit to 309.68 million Turkish Liras ($193 million), despite a 21 percent rise in sales, blaming higher cost of debt and foreign exchange losses.
Higher commodities costs also knocked its gross profit margin down to 49.3 percent in 2008 from 50.6 percent in 2007, the company said. The brewer said consolidated sales volumes rose 9.2 percent in 2008 from a year earlier, while the higher increase in revenues was down to price increases in local currencies.
Efes runs brewing operations in countries such as Russia, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Moldova and Serbia, where the market for beer and soft drinks has grown rapidly in recent years, and it holds a 50.3 stake in soft drink firm Coca Cola İçecek, which bottles Coca Cola.
"We are pleased to report another year of strong sales volume growth," said Alejandro Jimenez, president of Efes Beer Group. But he added: "Inflationary pressures combined with the significantly deteriorated consumer confidence in the second half of the year impacted especially our international markets. As a result, sales volumes started to decline in beer markets compared to 2007, especially in countries like Russia and Kazakhstan."
In Turkey, where Efes has a market share of around 86 percent, beer sales volumes grew 12 percent. Analysts say a government crackdown on illegally produced cheap alcoholic drinks in Turkey helped support beer sales last year, and the economic crisis prompted a switch to beer from more expensive spirits.
Efes runs brewing operations in countries such as Russia, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Moldova and Serbia, where the market for beer and soft drinks has grown rapidly in recent years, and it holds a 50.3 stake in soft drink firm Coca Cola İçecek, which bottles Coca Cola.
"We are pleased to report another year of strong sales volume growth," said Alejandro Jimenez, president of Efes Beer Group. But he added: "Inflationary pressures combined with the significantly deteriorated consumer confidence in the second half of the year impacted especially our international markets. As a result, sales volumes started to decline in beer markets compared to 2007, especially in countries like Russia and Kazakhstan."
In Turkey, where Efes has a market share of around 86 percent, beer sales volumes grew 12 percent. Analysts say a government crackdown on illegally produced cheap alcoholic drinks in Turkey helped support beer sales last year, and the economic crisis prompted a switch to beer from more expensive spirits.