By Jens Hansegard
Danish brewer Carlsberg A/S (CARL-A.KO) on Tuesday reported a
loss for the first quarter, pressured by increased uncertainty and
volatility in the Russian beer market.
The world's fourth-largest brewer said net loss in the three
months ended Mar. 31 was 90 million Danish kroner ($13.49 million),
compared with a loss of DKK67 million in the same quarter in 2014.
Analysts expected first-quarter net profit of DKK11 million.
The company maintained its outlook of organic operating profit
growth by mid- to high-single-digit percentages for 2015, and noted
that beer volumes grew organically in Western Europe and Asia.
Sales in the first quarter were DKK13.47 billion, up 4.4% from
DKK12.90 billion in the same quarter of 2014. Operating profit
before special items was DKK661 million, up from DKK453
million.
Carlsberg, the market leader in Russia, said the Russian beer
market declined by an estimated 9% in the quarter. The brewer said
it managed to largely mitigate lower beer volume shipments in
Russia by price hikes. However, reported net revenue in Eastern
Europe declined by 30% due to the substantial negative currency
impact.
-Write to Jens Hansegard at jens.hansegard@wsj.com
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