25 Sales of Green Sands shandy and soft drinks developed satisfactorily. The enter prise has breweries at Medan, Tangerang and Surabaya. In the Surabaya brewery a start was made on the building of a new cellar complex to replace the old cellars. Malayan Breweries Ltd., with activities in Singapore, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia and New Zealand, achieved a further improvement in earnings during the year under review. The increase in earnings in Papua New Guinea made a substantial contribution to this. In Singapore and Malaysia, too, there was a satisfactory trend of earnings. The economy in Singapore showed a slight improvement, but this did not yet lead to a recovery of the beer market. The construction of the brewery to replace two existing breweries is making good progress. The brewery is expected to be completed in mid-1989. Following the decline in the previous year, the sharply fluctuating beer market in Malaysia again showed an increase. Malayan Breweries was only partly able to benefit from this. To improve the com petitive position Tiger beer, the leading brand in Singapore, was launched. In Papua New Guinea the beer sales of South Pacific Brewery Ltd., an affiliate of Malayan Breweries, were higher than in the previous year. The good coffee crop led to an improvement in purchasing power, as a result of which the beer Beer sales in Asia/Australia/Oceania market in this country showed a growth, (in millions of hectolitres) Sales of soft drinks were again higher. In New Caledonia there was a further increase in sales of both beer and soft drinks by Grande Brasserie de Nouvelle- Calédonie S.A. It was decided to add a can-filling line to the brewery. In Australia our sales fell as a result of the economic recession, but we were I amply able to maintain our position as 2.4 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.4 market leader in the import segment. In the People's Republic of China we have not yet succeeded in finding projects 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 which satisfy our criteria for participation. The co-operation with Chia Tai has not yet led to the desired results. In Japan Heineken beer is brewed under licence by Kirin Brewery Co. Ltd. The steady growth of sales continued in 1987. In 1987 our minority interest Jordan Brewery Ltd., in Jordan, was merged with General Investment Co. Ltd., under which name the enterprise is being con tinued. Sales of Amstel beer remained at virtually the same level as the previous year. Exports of Heineken beer to the Far East rose substantially. There was a further growth in market share in Hong Kong. As a result of the liberalization of imports with effect from January 1, 1987, Heineken has now also been introduced in Taiwan. Exports to the Middle East were under pressure as a result of the strong position of the guilder in relation to local currencies. Prospects The policy is aimed at further develop ment and strengthening of the enterprise. This is being done in Europe, amongst other things, by means of continual ratio nalization and modernization of the pro duction facilities as well as by expansion of our interests. In markets where there is little or no rise in total beer consump tion, we are endeavouring to strengthen our position by making use of market segmentation and by improving margins. In growth markets we are seeking to strengthen our position by autonomous growth or by acquisitions. It is expected that in 1988 an amount of N.fl. 750 million will be spent on invest ments for the purpose of expansion and replacement of tangible fixed assets. These investments can be financed from the cash flow, from the liquid resources available and, where appropriate, by the raising of funds in local currency. In addition, the increase in our interest in

Jaarverslagen en Personeelsbladen Heineken

Jaarverslagen | 1987 | | pagina 30