With the constraints linked to the Covid pandemic behind it, the Danish brewer Carlsberg announced Thursday an increase in its turnover in the first quarter, but expects lower annual results following its decision to leave Russia.
The number 4 in the sector is counting on an evolution of its operating profit of between a decline of 5% and an increase of 2% over the whole of the year, he indicates in his report which, like the Stock Exchange of Copenhagen authorizes it, includes only the quarterly turnover.
From January to March, the latter amounted to 14.9 billion crowns (2.05 billion francs), an increase of 26.5%.
Carlsberg, which now only publishes its net income every six months, reported an 8.6% increase in volume sales in the quarter, with 15.4% increase in Western Europe, and 10, 5% in Asia but a decline of 2.1% in Central and Eastern Europe.
‘The first quarter saw only a limited impact from the war. The group had a good start to the year,’ noted CEO Cees’t Hart, who noted that the first quarter of 2021 marked by Covid restrictions had been exceptional and difficult to compare.
At the end of March, the group had indicated that it was selling its important activities in Russia, where it has 8,400 employees and has owned the Russian brand Baltika since 2000, following the invasion of Ukraine. This sale could take up to a year.
/ATS