Domestic sales January - June 2005: Summer boosts beverage sales, half-year sales of beverages in the black

Press release 3 August 2005

Domestic sales by members of the Finnish Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry 1 January - 30 June 2005

Summer boosts beverage sales, half-year sales of beverages in the black

During the first half of this year, domestic sales of beer, cider, long drinks, soft drinks and mineral waters produced by the Finnish brewing and soft drinks industry totalled almost 408 million litres. By the end of June, growth was up 0.2 per cent on the previous year. Compared to the previous year, sales of beer rose by 2.9 per cent during the half-year period, while sales of other beverages fell slightly. Thanks to the beautiful weather in June, sales of mineral waters and long drinks swung to strong growth.

By the end of June, members of the Finnish Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry sold a total of 210.6 million litres of beer, representing growth of 5.9 million litres, or 2.9 per cent, on the previous year. Sales of beer were boosted by discounts from shop promotions and the use of beer as a product to attract customers into shops. Large supermarkets in particular tried to attract customers with beer promotions for the May Day and Midsummer celebrations.

Sales of cider totalled 19.5 million litres, which was 7.8 per cent below the level of the previous year. Sales of long drinks amounted to 11.6 million litres during the half-year period, 2.2 per cent less than the previous year. However, June’s fine weather turned falling sales of long drinks around, leading to growth of 11 per cent. According to preliminary information, this rise in popularity has also continued in July.

Growth caused by warm summer weather was also evident in sales of mineral waters. Total sales for the half-year period were 1.6 per cent less than last year, but sales of mineral waters in June grew almost 13 per cent compared to the chilly start to last year’s summer. Total sales of mineral waters amounted to 30.9 million litres. Total sales of soft drinks fell 2.1 per cent short of sales in the corresponding period of the previous year, reaching a total of 135.6 million litres. However, sales of soft drinks also picked up several per cent in June.

DOMESTIC SALES JANUARY - JUNE 2005

Beverage	2005 mill.l	2004 mill.l.	Change mill.l.	Change %
Beer	210.6	204.6	5.9	2.9
Cider	19.5	21.1	-1.7	-7.8
Long drink	11.3	11.6	-0.3	-2.2
Soft drink	135.6	138.6	-2.9	-2.1
Mineral water	30.9	31.4	-0.5	-1.6
Sales total	407.9	407.2	0.6	0.2

Source: Member companies of the Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry. The statistics do not include sales by actors outside the Federation, nor private imports of brewery products, which are not statistically recorded.

Although the price of beer has been falling, the tax included in this price has not. At its worst, during Midsummer promotions, the proportion of tax contained in the price of a bottle of beer verged on one hundred per cent. In spite of large sales figures, the brewing industry’s highest-volume product is not currently yielding a sufficient profit margin. On the other hand, higher prices could fuel a surge in private imports. Reducing the beer tax to half its current level would put the situation on a more healthy foundation.

Additional information:
Managing Director Timo Jaatinen, tel. +358 (0)9 1488 7407, GSM +358 40 837 6794
Communications Manager Katri Tuulensuu, tel. +358 9 1488 7601, GSM +358 40 777 1938

The Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry promotes the interests of producers of beer, cider, long drinks, soft drinks and mineral waters in Finland. Its members are Oy Hartwall Ab, Nokian Panimo Oy, Olvi Oyj and Oy Sinebrychoff Ab. The Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry operates in connection with the Finnish Food and Drink Industries' Federation and is among the four largest industries in the food and drink branch in terms of the value of production.