Carlsberg reports 5.8% revenue rise and cuts ties with Russian brewery

02-Nov-2023 - Last updated on 02-Nov-2023 at 15:12 GMT

Unacceptable terms: Carlsberg reports 5.8% global revenue rise and cuts ties with Russian brewery (Credit: Getty/Jonathan Knowles)

Carlsberg Group has announced a 5.8% global rise in revenue per hectolitre across Europe and the termination of its license agreements with its Russian brewery as part of its Q3 performance update.

The report revealed while volumes had been impacted by a “challenging consumer environment and the weather”, organic revenue had seen “strong growth” in the nine months to 31 October this year across Western, Eastern and Central Europe.

Carlsberg newly appointed CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen said: “We delivered solid revenue growth in a challenging environment.

Strong performance

“The growth was driven by continued strong revenue and hectolitre improvement and outperformance by our premium portfolio.”

Also in the trading update, Carlsberg declared it would not be “forced into a deal on unacceptable terms to justify the illegitimate takeover” of its business in Russia.

Russia’a Government issued a presidential decree temporarily transferring the management of Carlsberg’s Russian Baltika Breweries to the country’s federal agency for state property management in July this year, after the brewer announced the conditional sale of the breweries in June.

Last month, Carlsberg stated it did not see a “viable path to a negotiated solution” for exiting Russia and informed Baltika Breweries of the termination of all licence agreements enabling the sites to produce, market and sell Carlsberg Group’s products, with a limited run-off period until 1 April 2024 to use up existing stock and materials.

Growth opportunities

In addition, the business said it would “continue to take all possible actions, including legal, to protect employees, assets and operations” but that future development of the sites “remain unclear”.

Aarup-Andersen added: “I’m enthusiastic about our brands, our teams, the commitment of our employees and the strong performance culture, which I have experienced across the entire company since I joined in September.

“The company has a strong foundation and a healthy financial position. We’re well positioned to invest in our brands and in our markets to capture attractive long-term growth opportunities.

“I'm confident we can accelerate growth in line with the SAIL’27 priorities and continue to drive year-on-year sustainable and profitable results.”