Greece’s Tourism Boom Gives Athenian Brewery a Boost

Photo Source: @athenianbrewery

Greece’s popularity as a leading tourism destination is giving Athenian Brewery (AB) a much needed boost increasing revenue by 4.2 percent to 321.6 million euros in 2016 against 308.6 million euros in 2015 and bringing the company back to profitability, management said last week.

The Greek subsidiary of Heineken NV, AB is the country’s largest brewery contributing via annual beer taxes a total of 91.2 million euros to state coffers.

Photo Source: Athenian Brewery

Sales volume in 2016 grew by 3.7 percent attributed in large part to increased consumption in summer due to tourism and Alfa beer’s improved performance – the company’s top-selling product in the last two years thanks to its powerful advertising campaign featuring popular Greek singers.

Net sales, meanwhile, declined by 6.9 percent to 230,37 million euros, compared to 247,54 million euros in 2015 due to a drop in domestic consumption and the imposition of a levy on beer.

At the same time, exports also shrunk due to a deal by parent group Heineken NV which includes supplying China and Italy markets. Athenian Brewery products include Amstel, Heineken, Buckler, Fischer, Chimay, Duvel, Murphy’s, Alfa, McFarland and Sol.

Pre-tax profits came to 13.4 million euros in 2016 against losses of 16.7 million euros in 2015.