Martens sells 27% more beer

Galati-based Martens, one of the medium-sized producers on the beer market, saw a 27% increase in the volume of its sales in the first half of this year against the same period of 2005. "In the last nine months we have seen a constant growth compared with the same period last year. Even if the bottled beer has seen a growth this year, PET-bottled beer had a substantial contribution to this increase, doubling its sales in the first few months," says Vasile Joanta, general manager of Martens Galati. Joanta specified that in 2005, the company sold 50,000 hectolitres of PET-bottled beer, while in the first half of this year, sales of PET-bottled beer almost reached 40,000 hectolitres. According to the company's general manager, in the first six months of the year Martens sold some 110,000 hectolitres of beer, a figure that also includes the company's exports. Las t year, the volume of sales stood at 200,000 hectolitres, with the company posting a turnover worth 6.1 million euros, an approximate 5% drop against 2004.