Ursus Breweries, a SAB Miller plc. Subsidiary, posted a 30% turnover growth for the financial year April 2006 - March 2007. The company"s beer sales gained 23% year-on-year, compared to a 20% overall market growth. Following capacity constraints in Q1, beer sales surged 42% in Q2. Brand power and investments in capacity expansion were the main growth drivers. Timisoreana, an Ursus Breweries brand, advanced 59% last year, following the successful release of the plastic bottle version in July 2006.
Ursus started two major investment projects in Buzau last year, on a total budget of 50 million EUR to increase the overall production capacity to 4.5 million hectoliters. The total SAB Miller investment in Romania now stands at 200 million EUR. Ursus has a 24% share of the local market, 4 breweries and over 1,300 employees.