ROMANIA: Ursus Breweries volume sales exceeded 3 times the market pace in H1 | Progresiv
Ursus Breweries, leader of the local beer industry, bought by the Japanese from Asahi, marked in the first half a 6% increase in sales volume, three times the growth rate of the market, said Mihai Barsan, Marketing Vice President of the company. 
"In the first half of the year, the beer market in Romania grew by 2% in volume, and we exceeded this pace reaching an advance of 6%. In terms of value, we are talking about 2-3 percentage points above the volume percentage. The uptrading phenomenon is also felt in beer. Given that the minimum wage has increased in the past two years, cumulated, by 30%, people feel the need to spoil themselves", explained Mihai Barsan.
Regarding profitability, he showed that the evolution of the indicator was influenced by rising raw material costs, but he insisted that the result at the end of the year would not be a negative one.
According to the company's data, Ursus Breweries has reached a market share in the total beer industry of 35%. Moreover, in modern retail the company's share reached 36%, similar to the level of traditional trade.
The main brands that supported sales growth are Timisoreana, Ciucas and Ursus. "Ciucas has reached the number 2 per total beer market after Timisoreana and is the number 1 for the economic segment. The launch of Ciucas in glass packaging at 0.33 l also contributed to this evolution", Barsan said.
As trends, Mihai Barsan talked about a stabilization of consumption, Romania being at the moment 10th among the countries of the European Union, with an average consumption per capita of about 80 liters per year.
"We also notice a decrease in PET beer (plastic packaging), especially in large PET formats. Consumers buy PET, but in small packages. This type of packaging still holds 50% of the market. On the opposite side is draft beer, with a share of only 4%, where there is a huge potential.
For comparison, draft beer in the Czech Republic has a 50% share, while in Ireland 30%", pointed out Tiarnán Ó hAimhirgín, Vice President of Sales & Distribution at Ursus Breweries.
According to data provided by the Ministry of Finance, Ursus Breweries reported last year a turnover of 1.63 billion lei, a net profit of 144.6 million lei, triple compared to 2015. Last year, the producer allocated 7 million euros in the refurbishment of its three production units in Timisoara, Buzau and Brasov. At the end of March this year, Ursus Breweries officially became part of the Asahi Japanese group. The company then completed the acquisition of former business operations and trademarks owned by SAB Miller in Central and Eastern Europe, which includes businesses in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and Romania. Thus, 2016 was practically the last year that Ursus Breweries activated under the umbrella of SABMiller giant. Ursus Breweries owns brands such as Ursus, Timisoara, Ciucas, Grolsch, Peroni or Redd's in the portfolio.
