4th May 2006 09:00
SABMiller PLC04 May 2006 SABMILLER ASSOCIATE INVESTS IN HEILONGJIANG PROVINCE London and Johannesburg, 4 May 2006. China Resources Snow Breweries Limited ("CR Snow"), an associate of SABMiller plc and a subsidiary of China ResourcesEnterprise Limited ("CRE"), announces that it will invest US$35.3 million in theconstruction of a new brewery in Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province.Construction of the brewery has commenced and is expected to complete in 18months with an initial production capacity of 2.3 million hectolitres. Thebrewery will be used mainly to produce CR Snow's national brand, "SNOW",targeting the Harbin area and the western region of the province. CR Snow'sexisting brewery in Shangzhi, a city in the south-eastern region ofHeilongjiang, will service the eastern part of the province. Heilongjiang Province reported total beer sales in 2005 of 15 millionhectolitres and annual consumption per capita of 39 litres, significantly abovethe national average of 23 litres. The new brewery will provide a production,distribution and marketing platform to support the national brand strategy ofSNOW and cater for the increased demand of CR Snow products. Total salesvolumes of SNOW brand increased 47% in 2005 to 15.8 million hectolitres. Overthe past two years CR Snow has increased sales volume by approximately 90% inHeilongjiang Province and has grown its market share in the province to circa20%. Mr. Andre Parker, Managing Director of SABMiller Africa & Asia, said, "The needto build a brewery to supply the demand in this key region shows the increasingpresence we have in Heilongjiang despite the other incumbent competitors. Thiswill provide us a perfect base from which we can expand our successful SNOWbrand into Harbin and challenge the competitive environment." Mr. Mark Chen, Managing Director of China Resources Enterprise, Limited said, "The greenfield plant further consolidates our position in the north-eastern area of China - the home of the SNOW brand. It offers an economical and efficient solution to provide the capacity and complements the existing operations in the area." Ends Notes to editors SABMiller SABMiller plc is one of the world's largest brewers with brewing interests ordistribution agreements in over 60 countries across five continents. The group'sbrands include premium international beers such as Miller Genuine Draft, PeroniNastro Azzurro and Pilsner Urquell, as well as an exceptional range of marketleading local brands. Outside the USA, SABMiller plc is also one of the largestbottlers of Coca-Cola products in the world. In the year ended 31 March 2005, the group reported US$2,194 million pre-taxprofit and a turnover of US$14,543 million on a UK GAAP basis. SABMiller plc islisted on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges. This announcement is available on the company website: www.sabmiller.com High resolution images are available for the media to view and download free ofcharge from: www.vismedia.co.uk China Resources Snow Breweries Limited China Resources Snow Breweries Limited was established in 1994 and is engaged inthe production, sales and marketing of beer and beverages in China. Itsshareholders are China Resources Enterprise, Limited and SABMiller plc. ChinaResources Enterprise, Limited has a 51% interest in China Resources SnowBreweries Limited while SABMiller plc holds a 49% interest. It operates 41breweries in the Chinese Mainland with a total sales volume of 39.5 millionhectolitres in 2005. About China Resources Enterprise, Limited China Resources Enterprise, Limited is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchangeand is also traded on SEAQ International of the London Stock Exchange. It isalso one of the constituent stocks of the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong and HangSeng London Reference Index. The Group focuses on the consumer businesses inboth Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland, with core activities being retail,beverage, food processing and distribution, textile and property investment. Enquiries: SABMiller plc Tel: +44 20 7659 0100 Sue Clark Director of Corporate Affairs Tel: +44 20 7659 0184 Gary Leibowitz Senior Vice President, Investor Tel: +44 20 7659 0174 Relations James Crampton Media Relations Manager Tel: +44 20 7659 0172 This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or issue or thesolicitation of an offer to buy or acquire securities of SABMiller plc (the"Company") or any of its affiliates in any jurisdiction or an inducement toenter into investment activity. This document includes "forward-looking statements". These statements maycontain the words "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "expect" andwords of similar meaning. All statements other than statements of historicalfacts included in this announcement, including, without limitation, thoseregarding the Company's financial position, business strategy, plans andobjectives of management for future operations (including development plans andobjectives relating to the Company's products and services) are forward-lookingstatements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,uncertainties and other important factors that could cause the actual results,performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different fromfuture results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by suchforward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based onnumerous assumptions regarding the Company's present and future businessstrategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future.These forward-looking statements speak only as at the date of this announcement.The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminateany updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained in thisannouncement to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regardthereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any suchstatement is based. Any information contained in this announcement on the price at which theCompany's securities have been bought or sold in the past, or on the yield onsuch securities, should not be relied upon as a guide to future performance. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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