The UK-based beer major SAB Miller’s Indian journey continues to wobble with total losses mounting to nearly Rs 500 crore.
SAB Miller, which peddles Foster’s as well as Miller HighLife brands in the country, started its operations in 2000 but since then has had a roller coaster ride.
The total losses are now more than 50 per cent of its networth.
Its 2011-12 losses from the operations here nearly doubled to Rs 119.41 crore compared with the previous year. SAB Miller, which is not listed in any of the Indian stock markets, is one of the largest beer companies in the world with operations across six continents.
An official with SAB Miller refused to comment on the results. The company’s market share in India which reached a high of 34 per cent a few years ago is now at about 23 per cent. Its bigger rival – United Breweries (UB) – has a share of about 54 per cent in the domestic market. UB posted a net profit of Rs 126 crore in 2011-12, which is about 14 per cent lower than the previous year.
SAB Miller recently re-launched its made-for-India beer, Indus Pride, an all-malt beer, as a premium spice –based product. The earlier version of the beer was launched in late 2008 but it fizzled out after selling about 400,000 cases with most of the sale coming from Karnataka and Rajasthan. Company officials attribute part of the losses to the flip-flop policy of the government in Andhra Pradesh, which is SAB Miller’s biggest market.
The State Government has been constantly shifting its policy on alcoholic beverages for the past few years leading to lower sales for the company.
One of its biggest brands in the market, Royal Challenge’s volume declined by 29 per cent because of lower offtake in Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. It recently launched its iconic Miller HighLife hoping to rival Heineken beer which has found some success in the market since its launch a couple of years ago.