Carlsberg says Q2 profit rises 36 pct, upgrades full-year expectations on strong ruble

Carlsberg Q2 profit rises 36 pct, upgrades outlook

COPENHAGEN — Danish brewer Carlsberg A/S on Tuesday said its net profit rose by 36 percent in the second quarter largely on the back of efficiency savings and favorable exchange rate movements.

The company said net profit for the period totaled 2.63 billion kroner ($452 million), up from 1.9 billion kroner in the same period last year.

Second-quarter revenue rose 2 percent to 17.97 billion kroner from 17.62 billion a year earlier, while organic sales fell by 3 percent.

The Copenhagen-based company also upgraded its outlook for 2010, saying it now expects net profit growth of 40 percent against “more than 20 percent” before. It credits the upgrade on a stronger ruble and a lower level of market decline in Russia than previously expected.

Carlsberg said it expects a full-year operating profit of around 10 billion kroner ($1.7 billion). Carlsberg earlier had said it expected operating profit to be in line with 2009, when it was 9.39 billion kroner.

Carlsberg shares jumped 2.9 percent to 514 kroner ($88.43) in morning trading in Copenhagen.

The company also said that its market share in eastern Europe improved strongly and that there were “strong gains” in Asia. In northern and western Europe, Carlsberg said its market share is starting to improve too.

“We achieved higher margins in all three regions for the first six months showing that we are clearly on track to meet our medium-term margin targets,” CEO Joergen Buhl Rasmussen said. “We will continue to balance our plans to improve efficiency and margins with our ambitions to drive top-line growth.”

For the first six months of 2010, Carlsberg had a net profit of 3.10 billion kroner ($534 million), up from 1.73 billion kroner for the same period last year.