Carlsberg remains committed to Russia

Carlsberg’s outgoing CEO Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen reiterated that Carlsberg would remain committed to Russia despite current woes. But he would say that, wouldn’t he? There is no buyer willing to take Carlsberg’s Russian business of their hands at this point.

On 12 May 2015 Carlsberg reported a net loss in the three months ended 31 March 2015 of DKK 90 million (USD 13.49 million), compared with a loss of DKK 67 million kroner in the same quarter in 2014.

Operating profit before special items was DKK 661 million, up from DKK 453 million, driven by stronger demand in Western Europe and continued growth in Asia. First-quarter revenue came in at DKK 13.47 billion, up 4.4 percent from DKK 12.9 billion in the same quarter of 2014.

Its revenue fell 30 percent in Eastern Europe in the first quarter, compared with the same period a year earlier. The company said that it offset most of a 16 percent drop in its sale volumes in the region with price increases.

The Russian beer market contracted by 9 percent in the quarter, according to Carlsberg. The Ukrainian market shrank by 14 percent.

Mr Rasmussen, however, insisted that there was some optimism to be had over Russia despite it “sadly” currently only accounting for about a fifth of profits at the brewer, down from almost a half when Carlsberg bought out its joint venture partner Scottish & Newcastle in 2008.