Chambly, May 16, 2001 - For the first quarter ending March 31, 2001, Unibroue had sales of $3,950,851, which represents a slight increase over sales of $3,883,614 for the same period last year. The net profit went from $91,054 last year to $42,260 this year. The earning per share was $0.01, about the same as for March 31, 2000.

Expressed in hectolitres, sales were 5.3% higher than those for the first quarter of 2000, whose total business volume included the Fourquet Fourchette subsidiary, which was sold last June.

In spite of an ongoing investigation by the Competition Board on sales and distribution practices by large brewers, the situation remains unchanged, which makes it very difficult for us to increase our sales in Quebec, at least for the moment, explains Unibroue President André Dion.

The higher business volume at Unibroue is due to an increase of 17% in foreign-market sales over the first quarter of last year.

This year we doubled our salesforce in Quebec as part of a vast recruiting program to pick up new customers, who had not been solicited thus far. The results have surpassed our expectations and show excellent promise for the coming months, concluded Mr. Dion.

Unibroue is also pleased to confirm that it has obtained a certificate from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency attesting to the fact its beers contain no GMOs. This first in America will enable the company to pursue its development in Europe where the rules governing the labelling of such ingredients are much stricter than in Canada.

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