Briefs: Anheuser Busch, San Miguel and Rexam

Export volumes boost for Anheuser Busch ​​ An expanded portfolio of European beer brands is helping US-based Anheuser Busch predict a very happy new year it operations on the back of growing sales volume to its suppliers, the company's chairman said Tuesday. August Busch IV said in a statement that the company's distribution deal for multinational rival InBev's European brands was expected to push sales and profitability within its operations over the next twelve months. Busch said that the group's expanded beer portfolio and enhanced marketing and sales strategies are expected to accelerate core beer sales as well as volumes and earnings in 2008. The US-based brewer has seen a continued turnaround it is domestic beer sales by focusing on exporter and craft beer brands. The strategy appears to be paying off further for the company, with the total volume of beer shipped to wholesalers up by 2.1m barrels to 104.4m barrels in 2007, a 2 per cent rise over the previous year, according to Busch. The optimistic outlook was matched by an 1.3 per cent increase in the number of barrels that were being delivered by wholesalers to retailers. The company claimed Acquired and Import brands contributed 1.7 percentage points and 1.6 percentage points to the respective increases in shipments and wholesaler sales-to-retailers over the period. San Miguel aims for Southern Chinese cost cuts ​​Philippines-based brewer San Miguel said it expects steady volume growth of 7.6 per cent for this financial year on the back of changes made to its operations in markets like South China. Increased levels of consumer spending, along with a reduction of raw material costs, were partly attributed to the improvements, according to the company. The company said in a trading statement released this week that sales volumes in November grew by 5 per cent in year-to-date terms in Hong Kong alone reflecting improved cost efficiency. Further initiatives to streamline costs and boost long-term profitability in the area are expected to drive the performance further. The restructuring in Hong Kong was put in place after costs were found to be relatively higher at the Hong Kong-based former Guangzhou brewery that at San Miguel's other brewery in South China, the company said. San Miguel said it expects additional sales benefits to its operations in the region from the Hong Kong government's initiative to cut beer tax duties to 20 per cent from the current 40 per cent mark. Rexam Russian acquisition cleared ​​Rexam, a leading manufacture of beverage cans and other consumer packaging, said that it has been cleared to purchase Russian can maker Rostar. The company said that in order to seal the deal, it had agreed with the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation (FAS) not to increase can prices in the country by more than 15 per cent a year. Completion of the purchase expected to be finished in the first three months of 2008, with the company keen to invest further into the country, amidst strong growth in food and beverage sales.