Ursus ups beer volumes in Romania in last quarter of 2012, strongest regional performance for parent company

SABMiller, which owns Romanian beer brands Ursus, Timişoreana and Ciucaş, has announced a 23 percent increase in sales volumes in Romania during the last three months of 2012. The news came in SABMiller's latest results update, published January 22. The ongoing popularity of PET (plastic bottles) packaged beers under the budget brand Ciucaş drove the Romanian rise in sales, according to SABMiller.

Romania's results were by far the best for SABMiller in Europe, where overall lager beer volumes were up by just 1 percent. Volumes were down in some markets, including by 11 percent in the Czech Republic, while many companies recorded “mid single digit” advances. SABMiller is a major international brewer that operates in over 75 countries and employs around 70,000 people. The company has some 200 beer brands in its portfolio. SAB was a South African brewing company with a history going back over 100 years. In 2002, SAB acquired 100 percent of US brewer Miller and renamed the group as SABMiller. SAB entered the Romanian market in 1996 with the acquisition of Vulturul Buzau. In 1998, Ursus, Vulturul Buzau and Pitber Pitesti were merged to form Ursus Breweries S.A. Later Ursus took over the firms Timişoreana and Ciucaş. Currently, Ursus is the largest beer producer by turnover in Romania and is a member of the Association Romanian Brewers, along with Bergenbier, Heineken, Romaqua, and United Romanian Breweries. These five companies together supply around 90 percent of the beer drunk in Romania. editor@romania-insider.com photo source: sxc.hu