Increased sales for newer brands such as Amstel and Coors Light helped Heineken Ireland increase overall sales volumes by 1.6 per cent in 2003.

The company said the performance was very creditable as the beer market in Ireland declined by 6 per cent in that period.

Turnover on a like-for-like basis was up 2 per cent at €305 million. Heineken's market share rose to 19 per cent, up from 18.6 per cent. A profit figure for the Irish operation was not disclosed.

Managing director Mr Nico Vervelde said the smoking ban, competition in the leisure sector and negative publicity about the industry would probably translate into another negative year for the drinks industry. He suggested the beer market might drop by 4 per cent this year.

In 2003, the Irish drinks sector was worth €5.2 billion, with beer accounting for €3.1 billion. On-trade sales fell 8.9 per cent with off-trade down 13 per cent.

Mr Vervelde said there was a range of factors behind the falling figures: the general economy and competition with pubs from other leisure alternatives such as restaurants, cinemas and gyms.

The prevalence of Special Savings Incentive Accounts also put pressure on the "leisure euro" he said.

Another phenomenon was a trend he described as "repertoire drinking", which involved consumers sampling drinks from week to week rather than staying faithful to one brand. He said, with the youth population (18-30 year olds) set to decline until 2016, the beer market would face continuing pressure.

He provided details on the main drivers behind the 1.6 per cent volume growth. Amstel was up 33.5 per cent; Coors Light was up 31.6 per cent; Murphys was down 7.9 per cent; and Heineken was unchanged.

The company said Coors Light was a very strong performer in 2003 and held 16 per cent of the bottled on-trade market. It said the growth of Amstel was supported by its association with the UEFA Champions League.

Mr Vervelde said Heineken was the only brewery with volume growth and increased market share in Ireland last year.

"Heineken Ireland is particularly pleased at the strong performance of all its brands, given the fact that all of its lager brands outperformed the highly competitive market, whilst its stout brand, Murphys, tracked the market movement and maintained its market share."

However, he said that another "tough" year beckoned.

Asked about the smoking ban, Mr Vervelde said there was a lot of uncertainty about the impact but the "overall net effect will be negative".

He said one report suggested there would be a 5-30 per cent downturn in on-trade sales, while a report from publican groups suggested a drop of 2-3 per cent. He described this as the "most valuable indication" so far.

Asked about recent price rises, Mr Vervelde said the drinks industry needed to "bring back value" to the business. He said there was only "limited room" for future price increases, probably just in line with inflation.

He said the industry was suffering from a wave of negative publicity and the issue of over-consumption would remain a live issue.