TSINGTAO Brewery Co, 27 percent owned by Anheuser-Busch Cos, posted a 77 percent jump in second-half profit as rising incomes allowed Chinese to buy more premium beer products.

Net income in the six months to December 31 climbed to 235.1 million yuan (US$30 million) from 132.9 million yuan a year earlier. Sales rose 18 percent to 5.93 billion yuan. The results were calculated by Bloomberg by reducing first-half figures from full-year earnings reported late on Thursday.

Rising affluence in the world's biggest beer market spurred a 16 percent surge in sales last year, with consumption forecast by Anheuser-Busch to double within a decade. Tsingtao, responsible for more than half China's beer exports, is increasing marketing of premium products, including a low-alcohol brand, through sponsoring next year's Beijing Olympics.

"Tsingtao is more profitable as it's selling more premium products," said Zhao Zongjun, a Shanghai-based analyst at Guotai Junan Securities Co. "In the past few years the company has focused on internal integration, rather than aggressive expansion."

Tsingtao, which is facing increasing competition from rivals such as InBev NV and Heineken NV, lost its position last year as China's biggest brewer by sales to SABMiller Plc's Chinese venture, according to the London-based company.

For the full year, Tsingtao's net income climbed 46 percent to 447.9 million yuan, or 0.34 yuan per share, from 306.6 million yuan, or 0.25 yuan a share in 2005, it said in a statement. Sales rose 17 percent to 11.7 billion yuan.

The brewer is sponsoring the Beijing Olympics, seeking to increase its brand awareness internationally and boost market share to 40 percent in Beijing, a market now 85 percent dominated by rival Beijing Yanjing Brewery Co.

A 355 milliliter bottle of Tsingtao Draught sells for four yuan, about double the price of a bottle of Yanjing beer.

Source:佚名