Carlsberg reported a 5.3% increase in third-quarter net revenue, boosted by positive figures in Asia.
The Danish brewer also announced it signed an agreement earlier this month to acquire the remaining 25% of Cambrew in Cambodia.
Third-quarter revenue stood at DKK 18.53 billion ($2.77 billion). The company maintained its 2019 earnings expectations, which it upgraded earlier this week, and is forecasting organic growth in operating profit of around 10%.
In Asia, net revenue grew organically by 14.2% with “particularly strong” volume growth in China, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.
In China, volumes grew by 6%, supported by the sustained growth of Tuborg and 1664 Blanc and the premiumisation of local power brands.
Despite cycling tough comparables with last year’s warm summer, net revenue in Western Europe grew organically by 0.2%. The company saw good revenue and volume growth in markets such as Switzerland, Denmark, Poland, Serbia, Greece, Croatia and Bulgaria, whereas volumes declined in markets such as France and the UK.
Net revenue in Eastern Europe declined organically by 2.3%. Volumes in Russia and Ukraine were impacted by the “intensified competitive environment” in 2019, cool weather and, in the case of Russia, tough comparables due to the World Cup last year.
“We’re pleased that we’ve been able to deliver solid revenue growth for the quarter despite tough comparables from last year,” said Carlsberg CEO Cees ’t Hart.
“In particular the Asia region continued its very good performance. The top line in Western Europe was solid in spite of challenging comparables from the very warm and dry summer last year, while we had difficult comparables in Russia and faced challenges that negatively impacted our market share year-over-year.
“Our earnings upgrade earlier this week is another proof point of the execution of SAIL’22 and a consequence of our improved geographical footprint, as solid earnings performance in China and Western Europe more than offset the challenges in Russia.”
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