Plzeňský Prazdroj announces its sales results for 2009

Doug Brodman, Managing Director Plzeňský Prazdroj:
“The beer markets all over the world have been facing difficult times last year.  The financial crisis has impacted both domestic and some of our export markets. 2009 sales saw a moderate decline in volumes. We continued to execute our strategy of developing Plzensky Prazdroj core Czech brands globally, as well as our focus in the domestic market on our quality premium and mainstream offerings. The launch of Gambrinus 11° Excelent into the Premium segment of rapidly growing 11 degree beers was a particular success.”

Premium brands from the portfolio of Plzeňský Prazdroj maintained sales volumes supported by rapid growth of 11° gravity segment, which has more than doubled. Velkopopovicky Kozel delivered outstanding results and its 11° variety achieved 21 % growth on the domestic market. The newly launched 11°Excelent in the family of the Czech best seller Gambrinus saw a tremendous success when only three months after its launch Excelent became the most widely sold 11-degree beer on the Czech market and continued to strengthen its position throughout the year. Our flagship brand Pilsner Urquell achieved excellent sales towards the end of the year.

In mainstream, Radegast and Gambrinus sales were exposed to declining consumer traffic in restaurants and pubs and lower disposable income by consumers for their beer purchases as a result of the economic crisis. A significant portion of this shortfall was, however, compensated by Gambrinus 11° Excelent and Kozel growth. Kozel consolidated its position as Czech’s number two brand, behind Gambrinus, and enjoyed another excellent performance with volume growth of 6 %.

Positive sales trend in the premium segment was underlined by performance of Frisco and the non-alcoholic Birell, all enjoyed volume growth during 2009. The Frisco malt-beverage brand continued with robust double digit growth of outstanding 90 %. We saw a drop in economy brands sales volumes.

The beers produced by Plzeňský Prazdroj have continued to strengthen their reputation worldwide. Foreign sales volumes comprised from the licensed production and export were up by 7.2 % mainly due to increased sales in Russia.

Exports declined by 10.2% due to harsh economic conditions in export markets. We saw decline on the U.S. market and some of the European markets like Hungary and Poland. Other core markets like France, Spain and the U.K. gained volumes. We opened a first ever abroad tank outlet on two significant markets – Austria and Slovakia, marking a new milestone of the export of the Czech beer culture.

The license production on the selected markets in the neighboring countries received a positive resonance among consumers and grew by 15.2 %. The brewing is controlled by the Plzen brewmasters.

Four main brands of Plzensky Prazdroj received a certified authorization by The Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection to use the registered geographical name Ceske pivo.

PLZEŇSKÝ PRAZDROJ BRANDS ARE THE HIGHEST QUALITY BEER BRANDS AND EMBODY THE BEST FROM CZECH BEER HERITAGE. WE ARE PROUD TO WEAR “ČESKÉ PIVO”.

Notes for editors:

• With total sales of 10.5 million hectolitres in the calendar year 2009 (including licensed production abroad) and exports to more than 50 countries around the world, Plzeňský Prazdroj is a major beer producer in the region and the largest exporter of Czech beer.
• Plzeňský Prazdroj, a.s. is a member of the group SABMiller plc. Pilsner Urquell is the international flagship of the SABMiller brand portfolio.
• SABMiller plc is one of the world’s largest brewers, with brewing interests or distribution agreements in over 60 countries across six continents. The SABMiller brand portfolio consists of international brands such as Grolsch, Miller Genuine Draft, Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Pilsner Urquell, as well as almost 200 other successful regional and national brands. Outside the U.S., SABMiller is one of the world’s largest producers and distributors of Coca-Cola products.

Contact: Jiří Mareček
Manager external communication
Tel.: +420 724 617 219
e-mail:

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