Heineken suffers losses in Belarus suffocated by taxes

• 2.09.2010, 11:14

Loss-making activity of Belarusian plants owned by Heineken is caused by increased tax rates.

BelaPAN news agency learnt this from Alyaksei Charnyaeu, general manager of Heineken in Belarus.

Dutch concern Heineken owns two Belarusian brewing companies, Syabar and Rechitsapivo. Syabar’s losses were 11.02 billion rubles in the first half of the year; Rechitsapivo lost 1.16 billion rubles. The data were presented at a session of the Presidium of the Belarusian Council of Ministers on August 10.

“Excise tax rates rose on January 1, 2010, causing an increase in tax payments by more than 4.5 billion rubles in the first half of the year. The property tax went up in May increasing this kind of payments by over 52 million rubles,” Charnyaeu noted.

He added there were other reasons for incremental costs.

“A rise in gas prices and electrical energy rates led to an increase in costs by near 707 million rubles. But the rise goes on,” Heineken general manager said.

According to him, the tree above mentioned expense items caused cost increase by almost 5.5 billion rubles.

As Charnyaeu noted, the expected volume of losses of Belarusian breweries in 2010 “will be equal to the volume of the additional tax burden”.