HUNGARY: First quarter pre tax profits down by 2% at Zwack

Hungarian drinks group, Zwack Unicum Rt, posted a pre-tax profit of HUF483m (US$1.7m) for the first quarter of 2002, 1.81% below last year's figure, in spite of a 9% increase in revenue. The decline in profit was attributed chiefly to a 25% increase in other operating costs due to a major Easter marketing campaign and a financial loss. Gross sales at the company, famous for its Unicum bitters brand, increased by 8.88% to HUF5.25 billion. Exports rose by 3.9% to HUF188m, accounting for around 3.6% of total sales.