UB to invest Rs 1,000 cr to hike brewing capacity

"The United Breweries Group has a capital expenditure plan of Rs 488 crore for the current financial year.

This is part of a capacity expansion programme, which com menced in April 2006 and involves a total expenditure of around Rs 1,000 crore over three years," according to UB Group Chief Financial Officer Ravi Nedungadi.

"The expansion would be partly funded by the recently concluded rights issue of Rs 425 crore and the remaining through a combination of internal accruals and debt."

The UB Group has a brewing capacity of 60.25 lakh hecto litres per annum and proposes to expand to 71.50 lakh hecto litres per annum in the next two years.

UB is setting up a facility in Andhra Pradesh. This will have an annual production capacity of 60 lakh cases per annum to begin with and 120 lakh cases eventually. The company also plans to have a greenfield plant in Karnataka with a capacity of 30 lakh cases a year.