By Jens Hansegard
Carlsberg Chief Executive Jorgen Buhl Rasmussen said the Danish
brewer nearly managed to offset a 16% decline in revenue in Eastern
Europe through price rises, but the impact of a weaker ruble took a
severe toll on revenue, which fell 30% in the region.
Stripping out such negative currency impact, revenue would have
declined 1% in Eastern Europe, Mr. Rasmussen told The Wall Street
Journal in an interview on Tuesday.
"Very negative effect from volume, but we benefit a lot from
pricing and then currency is negative versus last year," Mr.
Rasmussen said. "Currency has improved versus our assumptions back
in February. So it's a better situation we are looking at now when
it comes to ruble and exchange rate than we thought back in
February," he added.
Russia represents about 90% of Carlsberg's Eastern European
business.
Sydbank analyst Morten Imsgard says that despite currency
pressure easing somewhat in Russia, the brewer still faces a tough
market as consumers continue to curb spending.
Write to Jens Hansegard at jens.hansegard@wsj.com
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