Beamish rises to top in 2005

Last year was a record year for Beamish and Crawford, company managing director Alf Smiddy said today.

The firm, a wholly owned subsidiary of Scottish and Newcastle, grew net sales by 8.6% in a year in which the Irish beer market declined by 2% and pub sales dipped by 10%.

“We enjoyed strong growth across all key brands,” he told The Evening Echo as the company unveiled its results for the last year.

The growth had been in terms of output, sales and profitability.

It was a great performance by any standards and in the context of the introduction of the smoking ban.

Sales of Beamish Stout had risen by 6%; the only stout brand to show a growth.

Other highlights included:

Miller Genuine Draft enjoyed a high double digit growth in 2005.

Fosters lager became the fastest growing beer brand in the country.

Kronenbourg 1664, Blanc and Premier Cru, and its recently introduced portfolio of ‘World Beers’, including Baltica, Carlton Cold, Victoria Bitter, and Peroni, had all been well received in the Dublin market.

The outsourcing of distribution, warehousing, technical services, and security in their entirety, had been key drivers of success, Mr Smiddy said.

The outsourcing of non-core activities had allowed for maximum focus on sales and marketing of the full range of beer brands.

Beamish and Crawford is the oldest brewery in the country with a portfolio of brands including Beamish Genuine Irish Stout, Beamish Red Irish Ale, Miller Genuine Draft, Fosters Lager, Fosters Ice, Kronenbourg 1664 and Carling Lager.