Heineken and Carlsberg forecast profit increases

Heineken and Carlsberg, the world’s third- and fourth- largest brewers, yesterday forecast higher profits this year as rising consumption in Vietnam and south-east Asia offsets weaker demand from Russia and Africa.

Sales and profit will both increase in 2016 even with an “increasingly challenging external environment,” said Heineken.

Carlsberg said operating profit will rise by a low single-digit percentage on an organic basis as the brewer reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates.