Quadrant Amroq Beverages (QAB), the company that bottles and sells Pepsi on the Romanian market, has announced a 42% turnover growth in dollars for 2004 after expanding its production capacity and launching the Roua Muntilor mineral water brand.
It recently had to recall its Perla mineral water from stores after the authorities discovered the water had not been authorised for bottling.
In 2004 QAB made a 105 million dollar (85 million euro) turnover, higher than initially set last year at 100 million dollars.
The main factors contributing to the increase in sales were the launch of a new mineral water brand, Roua Muntilor, last summer, as well as the relaunch of the Prigat brand following a 4.5 million dollar investment in the Bucharest facility. The investment was used to eliminate preservatives from all the drinks in this line of products.
"The growth in volume was 24% on the previous year. All the brands in the QAB portfolio contributed to these results," the release shows. The highest growths in sales were for Lipton Ice Tea - 125% on 2003. Pepsi, Mirinda, 7Up and Mountain Dew each grew by 45%, with Prigat growing 44%. Sales of mineral water rose 6%.
QAB posted a 74 million dollar (65.4 million euro) turnover in 2003.
The company emphasised that the soft drinks market in Romania increased by 1.5% in 2004, according to data from the National Association of Soft Drinks in Romania (ANBR).
Estimated at over 500 million euros a year, the soft drinks market in Romania was affected by the cool weather last year that reduced consumption.
Mineral water was the most seriously affected, witnessing a standstill after eight years of continuous growth.
Carbonated soft drinks were also affected, while natural juices, nectars and ice teas enjoyed strong growth last year due to changes in consumption habits and to the fact that these market segments were virtually nonexistent until recently.
georgiana.stavarache@zf.ro
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