Koch: 2003 “A Year of Lower Growth for Better Beer”

Tough quarter for the Patriot. Boston Beer Q4 shipment volumes were down 6.3% against tough Sam Light rollout comps last year. Distributor sales-to-retailers were down 6%. The company said net revenue per barrel remained flat, with price increases taken in 2003 offset by a shift in the package mix towards kegs from bottles. This shift reflects the return to a more normal mix from the fourth quarter 2002 mix that was affected by the higher shipment volume of Sam Adams