Red Bull profits jump 40 per cent

Austrian energy drink maker Red Bull saw its net profit jump nearly 40 per cent to 311 million euros (406 million dollars) in 2012, the Wirtschaftsblatt newspaper reported Monday. The increase came as Red Bull increased its revenue from 2.06 billion to 2.31 billion euros, the daily said, citing financial statements of the privately held company. The Salzburg-based group has said that its main growth markets are in Western Europe, the United States and in emerging economies. Red Bull spends a third of its sales on marketing and sponsoring, including its Formula 1 teams. The beverage maker owed only 100,000 euros to banks at the start of the year, the records showed. Red Bull doesn’t normally publish its net profit results.