Tough Time

A plunge in beer volumes has dragged Anadolu Efes into the red in year-to-date results as markets in Russia and Ukraine contracted. Net losses were TRY 179.2m in the 9m to end-September. However, net sales were up 1% to TRY 8.26bn in the same period and operating profits climbed 3% to TRY 977.7m, thanks to a more buoyant soft drinks performance that balanced beer declines. The beer volumes drop -15% in Q3 and YTD was most pronounced in Ukraine, which accounted for about half of the decline. However, Russia sales also continued to decline, leaving Anadolu Efe's beer unit, Efes Beer Group, with a 14% YTD net sales drop and a TRY 180m loss compared to a TRY 109m profit in 2014.