Asahi to restructure businesses

Japan | For the six months through June 2020, Asahi’s operating profit fell 49 percent to JPY 45 billion (USD 421 million) as beer drinkers around the world avoided going out to bars, Asahi reported in August.

Unlike its peers, Asahi still felt bold enough to issue a forecast for the full year:

The owner of brands including Asahi Super Dry, Peroni and Pilsner Urquell forecast a 38 percent fall in annual operating profit to JPY 124 billion (USD 1.17 billion).

Asahi also announced a business reorganisation. Its AUD 16 billion (USD 11 billion) acquisition of AB-InBev’s Australian business, Carlton & United Breweries (CUB), closed in June. CUB will be combined with Asahi’s other Australian units and its New Zealand firm into one Oceania hub.

In Europe, it will merge its two European units under one business to be called Asahi Europe international. It will be headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic, and led by Paolo Lanzarotti, who previously headed Asahi’s central European unit, which it had acquired from AB-InBev.