China Resources Enterprise, which owns China Resources Snow Breweries in a joint venture with UK-based SAB Miller, said that total beverage volumes at the business increased 26 per cent over the 12-month period, with sales of the Snow brand up by 47 per cent.
"Snow has probably become the largest single beer brand in China in terms of sales volume," said Hong Kong-listed China Resources.
A SAB Miller spokesman said it was highly likely, given the growth rate, that Snow had overtaken China's best-selling beer Tsing Tao, which is part-owned by Anheuser-Busch.
China Resources, which also makes and distributes foodstuffs, textiles and petroleum, reported that the volume growth, to 1.58 million kilolitres, came through "focused brand marketing, distribution initiatives and continuous improvement in sales mix". It accounted for 40 per cent of the firm's total beverage sales volume.
Overall, CRE's beverage business posted a 30 per cent rise in profits to HK$136 million, helped by an average 7 per cent increase in selling price.
The Chinese beer market remains highly fragmented, however, with the Snow brewery holding just 13 per cent of the Chinese beer market.
The firm is however positioning itself for a head-to-head battle with TsingTao, with a new plant under construction in Harbin. The facility, which broke ground last week, is designed to have an annual production capacity of 430,000 kilolitres, mainly of Snow brand beer.
The RMB280 million investment marks Snow Beer's first steps in the northeastern China market. The average income of consumers in this region is lower than the rest of the nation, but local non-premium beer consumption is growing steadily.
SAB Miller previously tried to gain a stake in the established player, Harbin brewery, but lost to rival Anheuser-Busch.
The first phase of its new brewery - with capacity of 230,000 kilolitres - is expected to generate sales revenue of RMB300 million.
In a recent interview with Reuters, Andre Parker, managing director for SABMiller Africa and Asia, said that its beer sales in China are expected to grow by double-digit percentages in coming years, ahead of the market rate of between 5 and 8 per cent annually.
Current per capita consumption is only 23 litres compared with 100 litres in Australia and 60 litres in South Africa.
