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Presidential Administration considering proposals for turning around struggling brewery Krynitsa

The Presidential Administration is considering proposals for turning around the performance of struggling state-owned brewery Krynitsa, BelaPAN has learned.

One of the proposals under consideration is to sell a controlling stake in the company to an investor.

Other proposals include restructuring the brewery’s debts, granting the company government aid or deferment on its loans.

Krynitsa’s beer output fell by 5.8 percent year-on-year to 6.9 million decaliters in the first six months of this year, while its sales in the domestic market dropped by 16.4 percent to 4.2 million decaliters.

The brewery was among the country’s top 20 stock companies with the biggest losses in the first quarter of this year. It reported losses of 28.9 billion rubels in 2012 and 24.3 billion rubels in the first three months of this year.

Speaking to reporters in May, Krynitsa CEO Ryhor Pyatkevich said that the best solution to the Minsk-based brewery’s problems would be "replacing loans and replenishing working assets with direct investment."

"Fifty-two percent of the company’s assets are debts and repaying them is a massive burden. Apart from this, the profitability of the beer industry has been falling since 2007. One cannot make money with such an output capacity and such a level of consumption," he said.
He warned that the company’s possible acquisition by an investor would be decided "at the highest level."