Carlsberg profits decline over Russian weakness

Carlsberg, the world’s fourth-largest brewer, says full-year profit declined 4.2% because of a weaker Russian market and forecast no improvement this year as sales fall in northern and western Europe.

Operating profit, excluding some items, fell to 9.8 billion kroner (€1.32bn) last year, the Copenhagen-based company said yesterday, adding that earnings on that basis this year will be “at the level of 2011”. Carlsberg also said it plans to acquire the minority shares in its Russian Baltika unit at a maximum cost of 4.4 billion kroner (€594m).

Carlsberg rose as much as 3.7% in Copenhagen trading after “it took the market some time to realise that guidance was just cautious and that there was nothing nasty lurking in the background”, said Trevor Stirling, an analyst at Sanford C Bernstein in London.