SMC’s Guangdong Brewery posts 21% sales hike in 2005

Food and beverage giant San Miguel Corp. (SMC) yesterday reported that its San Miguel Guangdong Brewery (SMGB) in South China registered sales revenue of $21.38 million last year, up 21 percent from 2004.

Sales volume rose 16 percent, mainly driven by SMGB’s intensified marketing tack intended to enhance its Dragon brand portfolio’s visibility in the region, considered as one of the fastest growing beer markets in China.

Last year, SMGB also developed new packaging for its brands including a new canned variant for its local flagship brand, Dragon Beer.

The Guangdong brewery, inaugurated by SMC in 1994 as San Miguel Shunde Brewery, also fortified its leadership in the economy segment of the beer market in South China with its introduction of Valor in 640 ml bottles in the city of Shunde.

SMGB also gained wider access into the premium beer market in South China through San Miguel Pale Pilsen and Platinum Dragon Beer which won medals for quality excellence in this year’s Monde Selection.

SMC said Dragon Beer won an award from the international quality rating institution.

San Miguel Baoding Brewery (SMBB), San Miguel’s corporate vehicle for its North china operations, registered revenues of $16.8 million in 2005 or an increase of 13 percent from the previous year on higher sales volume.

Sales volume likewise went up 22 percent in sales volume with Blue Star Beer being the major contributor.

Blue Star Beer brand accounts for 96 percent of the San Miguel beer sales revenues in Northern China.

Other brands contributing to SMC North China operations’ growth include San Miguel Pale Pilsen, San Mig Light and Valor which like Blue Star are perennial winners of gold medals of excellence in the international product quality competition, Monde Selection.

SMBB is located in the western part of the 309.3 square-km Baoding City (about half the size of Metro Manila) in Hebei province, which is in the middle of three other major densely-populated cities: Tianjin, Shijiazhuang and China’s capital, Beijing.

The North China SMC operations started in 1996 with San Miguel’s purchase of the former Bada Baoding Brewery. Under SMC, the brewery earned its ISO 9002 and ISO 9001 certifications in 1998 and 2001, respectively.