The Portuguese brewer and soft drinks producer, Unicer, posted sales of €200.3m ($197.1m) for the first half of 2002, up 22% from €163.7m ($161m) in the first half of 2001.

Earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) at the company rose by 10% from €44.6m ($43.9m) to €49m ($48.2m) for the first half.

In March, Unicer acquired the Portuguese mineral water bottler, Vidago, from the Jeronimio Martins group for €145m. The acquisition gave Unicer a 27% share of the Portuguese bottled water market. However, the group said as it published its first half results that it would be concentrating on organic growth during the remainder of 2002.