Carlsberg raises full-year performance guidance 📌

Just after the close of the session in Europe, Carlsberg (CARLB.DK) presented its quarterly results. The company recorded solid organic growth in operating profit and raised its profit expectations for this year. However, after a strong start to the year through May, total volumes in the first half of the year declined organically by 1.7% (Q2: -3.0%), influenced by poor weather in most markets in June.

Regional breakdown of the company's revenue generation. Source: Carlsberg

FIRST HALF RESULTS

• Organic revenue +3.9%, forecasted +5.49%
• Organic revenue in Western Europe +1.3%
• Organic revenue in Asia +4.7%
• Organic volume growth +1.4%, forecasted +1.8%
• Organic volume growth in Western Europe -1.7%, in Asia +1.9%, and in Central and Eastern Europe and India (CEEI) +4.5%
• Premium beer category overall +4%, Beyond Beer +4%, non-alcoholic beers +6%
• Volume growth of international brands: Tuborg +8%, Carlsberg +12%, 1664 Blanc +4%, and Brooklyn +4%

ANNUAL FORECAST

• Forecast of organic operating profit +4% to +6%, previously forecasted +1% to +5%, analysts estimated +6.86%
• Operating profit growth driven by solid gross profit improvement, partially offset by a nearly 20% increase in marketing investments

Comment: The main topic of the publication remains the raised annual forecast. However, it is worth noting that the values raised by the company slightly overlap with what bank analysts expected. Consumer strength in Europe is declining, as evidenced by the company's lower volume data.