OREANDA-NEWS. April 16, 2010. At the Baltika Breweries annual general shareholders’ meeting held yesterday the decisions on all the issues of the agenda have been taken, including the approval of the company’s financial statements and dividends for 2009, the election of management bodies, and the approval of related party transactions.

In difficult macroeconomic conditions when beer consumption is down and the market is declining, Baltika’s business has proven resistant to the influence of an unfavourable environment. The company has succeeded in maintaining its stable financial condition owing to a well-balanced brand portfolio, innovations, and sales and distribution channel development, as well as proactive reducing costs over the last several years.

The shareholders approved the dividend payment for 2009 at the rate of 128 roubles per ordinary and preference share.

High dividends were possible owing to good financial results and the completion of major investment programmes in 2009. With the launch of the Novosibirsk brewery and an increase in several breweries’ capacity in 2008, the modernization of the brewery in Azerbaijan, and the implementation of raw material resource development projects last year, Baltika formed a geographically balanced manufacturing and logistics structure for future Baltika’s development; the company’s principal investment projects have been completed.

The membership of the Baltika Breweries Board of Directors was approved at the meeting. Its members are:

1. Anton Artemiev;

2. Ulrik Andersen;

3. Vladislav Grib;

4. Hans Kasper Madsen;

5. Jorgen Buhl Rasmussen;

6. Bjorn Sondenskov;

7. Alexander Shokhin.

As a whole, the work of the Board of Directors has been declared successful; its membership has not changed significantly: in place of Independent Director Alexander Izosimov, Vladislav Grib has been elected a member of the Board of Directors.

Shareholders have approved a related party transaction. It is a general loan agreement on provision of loans to Carlsberg Breweries A/S, the parent company, totalling not more than EUR 300 million. According to this agreement Baltika will be able to provide funds in the form of short-term (up to one year) loans (in RUB, USD or EUR) to Carlsberg. The interest paid on each loan will be determined as the highest deposit rate offered at the time, for the same currency and amount by most reputable Russian banks (which have been assigned an international investment rating by Fitch, Moody's or Standard & Poor’s), increased by 0.15% per annum. For Baltika this deal means a maximum profit from the deposit of free cash with the minimum risk and the best market interest rate.

Baltika Breweries is Russia's largest consumer goods producer and since 1996 has been the leader on the Russian beer market. Baltika is the number one selling beer brand in Europe (Canadean, Euromonitor). The company has breweries in ten Russian cities, a brewery in Azerbaijan, and boasts an extensive brand portfolio. Baltika Breweries is the leading exporter of Russian beer: Baltika products are represented in more than 60 countries, and make up 70% of all Russian beer exports. Baltika will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2010. At Baltika, innovation is one of the fundamental principles of development. This relates to both the development of our brand portfolio through the introduction of fundamentally new products, packaging, and marketing strategies to the Russian market; as well as production technologies, logistics, and sales.

Over 20 years Baltika has devoted special attention to issues of quality: our breweries have modern equipment, advanced quality management systems have been introduced, and only the best ingredients are used to make our products.