Carlsberg raises profit outlook despite falling beer volumes

Carlsberg raised its full-year profit forecast on Thursday, even as its organic beer sales volumes declined in the first half of the year.

The Danish brewer said it now expects organic operating profit growth of 3% to 5%, narrowing its previous guidance of 1% to 5%.

The updated outlook comes despite a 1.7% drop in organic volumes for the six months ending June 30, which the company attributed to a challenging environment and a 2.8% sales decline in Asia.

Reported revenue, however, grew 18.2% to 45.86 billion Danish Kroner, boosted by the company's acquisition of British soft-drinks maker Britvic, which was completed in January.

Reported operating profit rose 15.1% to 7.23 billion Danish Kroner, while reported net profit fell 4.7% to 3.56 billion Danish Kroner, impacted by integration costs, according to the company.

"Being able to narrow our earnings guidance towards the upper end of the range in a difficult trading environment reflects our relentless focus on commercial execution as well as continued strong performance management and cost discipline," CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen said.

Carlsberg said the integration of Britvic is progressing as planned and maintained its forecast for the unit to contribute 250 million British Pounds to full-year operating profit.