Polish beer sales soaring in the UK

Brewer SABMiller today said soaring demand for its Polish beer brands in the UK had contributed to a 14% hike in half-year earnings.

The company said its Tyskie and Lech brands had both performed “very strongly” since their introduction last year.

SAB said sales had been initially driven by an influx of Polish workers into the UK, particularly in West London and the South-East.

However, the company added today that the brands were also now becoming increasingly popular among native British drinkers.

Nigel Fairbrass, SABMiller spokesman, said: “This is now much more than a Polish plumber phenomenon and consumers are becoming more adventurous in their choice of premium beer as emphasis switches away from Stella Artois.”

SAB said Peruvian lager Cusquena has also proved a popular tipple with UK drinkers, with sales climbing 35% in the six months to September 30.

The success of the foreign beers saw the company’s UK beer volumes rise 42% in the period against the backdrop of a beer market which has seen falling sales due to poor summer weather.

SAB added that UK sales of Peroni Nastro Azzuro climbed 33% as demand for the premium lager was boosted by a successful national advertising campaign.

Overall group lager volumes increased 15% during the period as the company was boosted by a jump in sales in India and China. Asian and Africa lager volumes grew 29% with surging economic growth in emerging markets lifting disposable consumer incomes.

SAB said sales at its Miller business in the US had returned to growth, with underlying earnings up 19%.

The company last month announced it was forming a joint venture with US brewer Molson Coors to combine their US operations, which will have combined annual beer sales of 69 million US barrels.

The deal is an attempt to close the gap on Budweiser and Michelob brewer Anheuser-Busch, which currently dominates the market.

Pre-tax profits for the period increased to $1.58bn (€1bn).

However shares in the company slipped more than 2% after the earnings figure failed to hit analyst forecasts due to rising raw material costs.

SAB said it had raised prices in an attempt to tackle of a significant“ increase in raw material costs but it warned that it expected to face a ”more challenging“ environment.

The announcement comes a week after Danish rival Carlsberg said it was raising the cost of a pint after a surge in the cost of commodities such as aluminium, malt and barley.

SAB has been linked with a potential rival bid for UK brewer Scottish & Newcastle in an attempt to gain control of its Russian and eastern European business Baltic Beverages Holdings.

The company made no comment on the speculation today amid news that Heineken and Carlsberg have raised their offer for the Foster’s brewer.