24th Feb 2006 07:02
SABMiller PLC24 February 2006 Ref 7/2006 SABMILLER HIGHLIGHTS GLOBAL BEER GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES London and Johannesburg, 24 February 2006. In a presentation to the 2006Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) annual conference yesterday inScottsdale, Arizona SABMiller plc Chief Executive Graham Mackay set out why thegroup's broad exposure to the global beer industry will underpin future growth.He said: "The world's population is forecast to grow to 6.8 billion people by the year2010, and much of this growth will come from emerging markets. In most markets,we see strong trade up trends across most consumer product categories. Here inAmerica and in other developed markets, that means growth in wine and spirits,and a move to premiumisation within the beer market. In the rest of the worldhowever, the opportunity is far greater, as consumers trade up from lowerquality, cheap beer, into modernised mainstream products and then on into whatwe refer to as 'worthmore' brands. Consumers are also moving into beer as anaspirational mainstream alternative to cheap spirits, or other types of localindigenous alcohol. This is increasing beer's share of total alcohol across theemerging market landscape and there is a long way to go. Per capita consumptionof beer stands at roughly 84 litres in the US, but in our Central and EasternEuropean markets it is only 60. In our Latin American markets it is just 31;and it is 6 in Africa, 23 in China and only 1 litre of beer is consumed perperson per year in India. We believe this growth trend will continue for a verylong time to come, and it presents us with some exciting opportunities." In the same presentation Norman Adami, the President of SABMiller's NorthAmerican subsidiary, Miller Brewing Company, confirmed that whilst SABMiller hadachieved its three year turnaround objectives in stabilising the Millerbusiness, it now faces new challenges. He said: "The Miller business is now moving into what we are referring to as the 'stepup' phase, in which we will begin to demonstrate that we can indeed restore ouroverall portfolio to growth. There are a number of imperatives on which this isbuilt. Firstly, we will extend the progress made in strengthening ourleadership and organisation. Secondly, we will sustain and build on the improvedrelationship with our distributors, which has been one of the mostunderestimated factors in our success to date. Thirdly, we will strengthen andclarify the unique, relevant brand position for Miller Lite, whilstsimultaneously furthering the dialogue with its principal competitor. Fourthly,we will establish a clear and bold brand position for Miller Genuine Draft, andat the same time balance brand-building with cost management to ensure thatMiller High Life and Milwaukee's Best weather the likelihood of ongoing pricepressure within the economy segment led by the industry leader. Finally, we mustcreate momentum behind Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Pilsner Urquell whilst ensuringwe maintain their positioning as high-end imports." In the same presentation, Barry Smith, President of SABMiller Latin America,commented on the growth prospects for SABMiller's newly acquired businesses inColombia, Peru, Panama and Ecuador: "Panama, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru together represent a larger region than manypeople would expect. Its population of 89 million would make it the largestcountry in Europe, and its current per capita consumption levels of 31 litresare little more than half those we see in South Africa. The expected regional 5year volume growth of c.4% compares favourably with corresponding growth ratesin the rest of Latin America and is supported by forecast GDP growth of almost4%. "Our strategy is to invest significant resources in improving the image of thebeer category, through marketing, packaging and point of sale development. Wewill enhance beer's image across the market, but we will also target specificconsumer segments and channels, which will broaden beer's role within thealcohol category across a wider range of occasions. It is worth rememberingthat per capita consumption in Colombia was 54 litres per capita at its peak and34 litres in Peru. The current levels are 34 and 24 respectively and we areconfident that with actively managed pricing, we can begin to restore theconsumption levels these countries enjoyed in the past." SABMiller addressed the conference yesterday at 6.50pm EST (11.50pm GMT). Thepresentation and Q&A session was webcast live at www.sabmiller.com and isavailable for replay. 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 Enquiries: SABMiller plc Tel: +44 20 7659 0100 Sue Clark Director of Corporate Affairs Tel: +44 20 7659 0184 Gary Leibowitz Vice President, Investor Relations Tel: +44 20 7659 0174 Nigel Fairbrass Head of Media Relations Tel: +44 20 7659 0105 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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