Bere Mures acquisition not reflected in Heineken figures

Heineken Romania, Ciuc and Golden Brau brewer, ended last year with turnover worth 896m RON (around 213m euros), up 9% in RON and down 5% in euros from the same period of the previous year. "As regards sales volumes, they followed the market trend in 2009," stated Jan Derck van Karnebeek, general manager of Heineken Romania. He added the beer market fell by 13% during last year, quoting Romania's Brewers Association data. Though it was the first year of economic crisis, 2009 was also the first year when the takeover of Bere Mures, for which Heineken paid 150m euros in 2008, should have been reflected in the figures of the Dutch group's Romanian subsidiary. At the time of the acquisition, Heineken Romania representatives were speaking of a cumulated sales volume of six million hectolitres and a 31% market share. Moreover, van Karnebeek stated at the moment he took over the company's reins that one of his goals was to boost market share. According to ZF estimates, Heineken Romania in 2009 reached sales of around 5 million hectolitres and a market share of around 28.5%, down from the 29% it said it had in the previous year.