LONDON — Danish brewer Carlsberg forecast full-year profit toward the upper end of its previous guidance range even as it missed half-year estimates, saying benefits from its 2025 purchase of Britvic were being delivered faster than expected.
The world’s third-largest brewer behind Anheuser-Busch InBev and Heineken, which acquired Britvic as part of a pivot to soft drinks, said on Wednesday it now expects annual organic operating profit growth of between 4 percent and 6 percent. It previously forecast between 2-percent and 6-percent growth.The maker of Kronenbourg 1664 and Tuborg beer said it would deliver approximately 50 percent of the total expected 110 million pounds ($149 million) synergies from Britvic in 2026, compared with the previous expectation of 30 percent to 40 percent.Carlsberg had previously said it was taking a cautious approach to annual guidance as geopolitical turbulence such as the Iran war threatened demand.The conflict is putting more strain on consumers’ wallets, which had already caused some to cut back on drinking.Bad weather, most recently in China, has also dragged on sales, as well as other geopolitical turbulence such as the Ukraine war and US tariffs, and also shifts in drinking habits.Carlsberg reported first-half operating profit of 7.45 billion Danish crowns ($1.15 billion), missing analyst expectations for 7.55 billion crowns.
