FULL MEMBER OF THE CARLSBERG FAMILY

The Khirdalan brewery has recently become a full member of the Carlsberg family.

The Khirdalan plant has been a member of the famous Danish beer manufacturer since 2008 through the Russian group Baltika. Hence the name of the plant, Baltika-Baku.

However, to further integrate the plant into the group and to unify the corporate style with other group companies, it was decided to rename the company in Azerbaijan from Baltika-Baku to Carlsberg Azerbaijan.

The recent visit of a high-ranking official Danish delegation to the enterprise manifests the significance of the Khirdalan plant in terms of expanding economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Denmark.

In particular, the Danish Minister of Taxes Karsten Lauritzen, the Ambassador of Denmark to Turkey Svend Olling and the Turkish Consul to Azerbaijan Arnud Govart visited the plant during their visit to Baku. During the visit, they discussed the situation in the beer industry, business prospects of Carlsberg in Azerbaijan and Danish companies in general.

The guests were also introduced the process of beer production, tasted local varieties, including the newly developed one, which is still not sold.

"Further integration into the Carlsberg Group marks a new beginning for the brewery and demonstrates the desire to develop our business in Azerbaijan for the long term," said Thomas Wolke, CFO of Carlsberg Azerbaijan.

The Honorary Consul of Denmark to Baku Arnud Govart noted that he was impressed how Carlsberg managed to occupy a significant market share in Azerbaijan.

Carlsberg Azerbaijan plays a very important role in the Azerbaijani economy in terms of the development of the non-oil sector and state-of-the-art production standards.

The company was awarded the status of the "tax partner" of the Ministry of Taxes of Azerbaijan for the payment of ₼15-20 million in annual tax payments and full transparency in business operations.

The plant employs about 200 people, another 400 are employed in related fields (distributors, agents, contractors, etc.).

In general, total investments in the development of the Khirdalan plant amounted to more than ₼47 million, which transformed the company built in 1969 into one of the most modern breweries in the former USSR.

It is noteworthy that in recent years the company has significantly expanded the range of products including the following popular brands of beer: Khirdalan, Baltika 0, Baltika 7, Baltika 9, Tuborg, Cooler, Afsana , Zhigulevsky. Thanks to the production of high-quality products, Carlsberg Azerbaijan controls about 75% of the market in Azerbaijan. This is a very high indicator for the Carlsberg group as well.

Meanwhile, despite such a high market share, Carlsberg Azerbaijan expands its list of products and will present three new products starting from April: Kvas Taras, Xırdalan Export, and Cooler in draft beer format.

In general, the rebranding of the Khirdalan plant shows a high level of organization of beer production in Azerbaijan, which corresponds to the traditions of one of the world's largest producers with more than a century and a half tradition. As known, Carlsberg Group owns breweries in dozens of countries in three major regions - Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Asia. Its products are represented in 150 countries. The company's portfolio includes more than 140 brands of beer.

Economic indicators allow us to evaluate positively the future development of both the entire Carlsberg Group and the Khirdalan plant. By the end of 2016, the net profit of the Carlsberg Group of companies reached 4.446 billion Danish kroner (about $643.6 million) against a loss of 2.926 billion DKK ($419.8 million) in 2015, according to the group's financial statements. In addition, the company managed to achieve profits amidst a decrease in revenues by 4.8% to 31.371 billion Kroner ($4.5 billion).