Over 2004 Baltika Brewery continued being the leading Russian company, showing excellent results. The company set a record in beer sales through the entire history of Russian beer brewing, selling some 2 billion liters of beer. The company strengthened its leading position on the market selling some 23% more beer year on year, which is more than twice the growth figure of the entire Russian beer market.  

The company began implementing the new marketing policy in April 2004, as the company restyled the entire Baltika brand. Sales leaders in mid-range and premium segments appeared in new packaging. The company presented Baltika No. 3 Classic in a can, and Baltika No. 7 Export in a premium bottle. Other brands of the company were positioned individually with individual communication planning. The new Baltika No. 2 Light appeared, and the company began brewing the licensed Foster's beer.  

In 2004 sales of leading Baltika beers grew twice as fast as the market, with Baltika No. 3 Classic and Baltika No. 7 Export selling some 21% more year on year. According to the information provided by BBH the share of the leading Russian brand - Baltika No. 3 Classic - grew to 6% over the year.  

Other brands of the company also showed good sales growth with independent positioning and advertising support. Carlsberg licensed beer sales in 2004 grew by 130%, regional Samara and DV brands grew by 163% and 213% respectively.  

In an evident show of success, the company won 51 awards in national and international professional and consumer competitions, including medals at Brewing Industry International Awards 2004 in London and European Beer Star Award 2004 in Germany.  

In 2004 the company held six promotional actions. For achievement in the area of marketing the company won the most prestigious award in the sphere of marketing communications - the Golden BRAND OF THE YEAR / EFFIE award for the effective strategy of building the Baltika No. 3 Classical brand.  

In 2004 the company completed the transition to a new distribution system, engaging over 1000 specialists in over 140 Russian cities. At present Baltika beer is represented in 96% of the country's retail outlets. Having invested $25 mln the company created a perfect logistics system, based on the company's own car fleet and train park, including 30 warehouses accessible for all means of transportation throughout the country, including 7 own modern A class storage terminals.  

In 2004 Baltika increased the number of export markets on which the company operates, involving markets of China, Australia, Tajikistan, New Zealand, Belgium, Poland, Cyprus, Cuba and Taiwan. At present the company exports beer to 36 countries. According to the preliminary data of 2004, the sales volume of the company in 2004 grew by 14% year on year, and amounted to 11.3 million deciliters. In 2005 the company plans to increase export to 15.5 mln deciliters.  

The strong and stable leadership of Baltika Brewery on the market has led to dynamic growth of the company's capitalization, which exceeded $2 bln. According to RTS, Baltika now is one of top 15 most expensive Russian companies.