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Lao Brewery Company boosts production capacity
The Lao Brewery Company (LBC) has invested about 200 billion kip (US$25 million) to boost its production capacity as demand for its beer products surge, a top company manager announced on Aug 18.
Speaking at the company's annual conference held in Vientiane, LBC Managing Director Mr. Kissana Vongsay said that the expansion to production facilities in Vientiane was underway and will be completed by the middle of next year.
Once construction of the new processing facility is completed, the company's beer production capacity will reach 310 million litres a year, increasing from the current 210 million litres a year.
Mr. Kissana said the company had completed construction of a new US$5 million drinking water processing plant, which can produce 46,000 bottles an hour. At present, the water processing plant produces about 21 million litres of drinking water a year.
Construction of the US$6 million Lao Brewery building in Vientiane is expected to be completed in 2013, he said, adding that the company, over the past seven months, had developed an IT system to ensure effective management, introduced new products to the market and closely cooperated with dealers to boost sales of its beer products.
According to a report from LBC, the company saw a 14 percent increase in its revenue over the first seven months of this year, which was six percent higher than the annual plan. The company forecast that its revenue for 2011 would see a 12 percent growth - about 8 percent higher than the annual plan.
The company achieved a 25 percent increase in profits over the seven months and exceeded the annual plan by about 11 percent. The profit for the entire year is expected to be 30 percent. The company has paid 559 billion kip in taxes to the government and expects to pay 1 trillion kip this year.
Mr. Kissana said that the company was able to generate larger amounts of revenue because of the nation's economic growth and the rise in the number of international tourists, which increased beer consumption and caused a shortage during peak season.
Currently, Beer Lao holds 98 percent of the beer market share, while Tiger Head brand drinking water represents 70 percent of the bottled water market, according to the report.
Mr. Kissana also announced the merger of the Lao Brewery and Lao Soft Drink companies in accordance with the wishes of the shareholders of the two companies, adding that the move aims to strengthen business operation, open doors for international competition and protect the interests of the government and workers.
The Lao government has a 50 percent stake in LBC and a 30 percent interest in the Lao Soft Drink Company, with the remaining shares in both companies belong to Danish company Carlsberg Breweries A/S.
vientiane times
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