Carlsberg reports 2015 loss after impairments

Danish brewer Carlsberg on Wednesday reported a loss of 2.58 billion Danish kroner (390 million U.S. dollars) after impairment and restructuring charges of 8.5 billion kroner.

Many of the charges were attributable to a worsening of the macroeconomic situation in Russia and the measures taken under the restructuring program, the company said in its annual report.

In particular, there were impairment losses of 4.0 billion kroner relating to the Baltika trademark in Russia.

Operating profit stood at 8.46 billion kroner for 2015, representing a decline of 8.0 percent as compared to 2014, affected by a negative currency impact of 130 million kroner.

Meanwhile, Carlsberg's organic operating profit fell by 7.0 percent, which was in line with expectations the company announced in November 2015.

Net profit adjusted for special items after tax was down 17 percent to 4.557 billion kroner in 2015, year-on-year.

Net revenue rose to 65.35 billion kroner, up 1 percent from 64.51 billion kroner in 2014, thanks to strong Asian performance.

"2015 was a mixed year for the Carlsberg Group. While our Asian business continues to perform strongly, our businesses in Western and Eastern Europe had a challenging year," said Carlsberg CEO Cees't Hart.

Hart said 2015 marked the inflection point as the growth markets of Asia accounted for a larger part of the group than Eastern Europe.

In Eastern Europe, beer sales by volume fell 14 percent, while net revenue went down 22 percent year-on-year to 10.96 billion kroner in 2015.

"Volumes were under pressure due to the overall market decline, market share loss in Russia, and the further need for Russian distributors to reduce their inventories in response to the declining traditional trade channel," the company said in the report.

In 2016, Carlsberg expects to deliver "low-single-digit organic operating profit growth and a further reduction in financial leverage."

A revised strategy, aimed at providing the company with a long-term strategic direction that will create sustainable value, is expected to be announced in March this year.

The Carlsberg Group is the world's fourth-largest beer manufacturer, and produces flagship brews such as Carlsberg, Tuborg, Kronenbourg and San Miguel. (1 U.S. dollar = 6.64 Danish kroner) Endit