Asahi targets Y200 bln overseas revenue

By Taiga Uranaka, Ritsuko Shimizu

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asahi Breweries Ltd aims to almost quadruple its overseas revenue to 200 billion yen ($1.86 billion) within five years from 55.4 billion yen in 2007 as it tries to offset declining alcohol consumption at home.

"We would like to raise our overseas sales to 200 billion yen, and we should not take five or 10 years to achieve that," said Asahi president Hitoshi Ogita in an interview with Reuters.

The maker of "Super Dry" beer is the leader in Japan's beer market with a 37.9 percent share in 2007, but its group revenue and profits trail those of rival Kirin Holdings Co Ltd, which has been better at adapting to a changing market.

In 2007, domestic beer sales accounted for 60 percent of Asahi's overall sales and overseas revenue stood at 4 percent. The figures for Kirin were 43.6 percent and 15.8 percent, respectively.

Asahi and its Japanese rivals are trying to compete with global mega-brewers for customers as well as increasingly costly raw materials amid drastic consolidation in the beer market.

InBev has launched a $46.3 billion bid to buy Anheuser-Busch as it seeks to create the world's largest brewer with the biggest-ever takeover of an alcoholic drinks company.

"The situation will be tougher if super-big companies become even bigger," Ogita said.

While Asahi wants to expand, it is unlikely to consider large-scale acquisitions.