Carlsberg's operating profit up 9% in 2010

Danish beer maker Carlsberg had a 9-percent growth in annual operating profit in 2010, but sales suffered in Russia due to high excise duty, the company said in a statement on Monday.


In its financial statement for 2010, Carlsberg said its operating profit rose to 10.25 billion Danish kroner (1.87 billion U.S. dollars) from 9.39 billion Danish kroner (1.72 billion dollars) in 2009, despite a slight fall in the fourth quarter of 2010, which the company attributed to "significant excise duty increase" in the Russian market.


Russia tripled its excise duties starting from Jan. 1, 2010, pushing high beer prices and affecting sales.


However, Carlsberg said growth picked up in the Russian market toward the end of 2010, and is predicting a 2-4 percent growth there in 2011.


The world's fourth-largest beer maker also foresees a "high single-digit percentage growth in operating profit" in 2011 and an ambitious 20 percent adjusted net profit growth.


"For 2011 we believe market dynamics will improve slightly, not least in Eastern Europe where we anticipate the Russian market to return to growth," CEO Joergen Buhl Rasmussen said in the statement.


In 2010, Carlsberg registered a net revenue of 60.1 billion Danish kroner (11.01 billion dollars), up 1 percent from the previous year, thanks to strong growth in Asia and Northern and Western Europe.


It also reported an overall 3-percent expansion of the Carlsberg brand owing to increased football-related investments and particularly those during last year's World Cup in South Africa.


The brewer meanwhile indicated that rising costs of raw materials could mean consumers will have to pay more for their Carlsberg beer in 2011. Eastern European beer-drinkers could be most affected, which could in turn affect Carlsberg's profitability in the region, the company said.


"The impact from increased input costs will be mitigated by higher sales prices in all regions," the brewer added.
(Source:http://news.xinhuanet.com)