CABGY Carlsburg AS (PK)

   By Dominic Chopping 
 

Carlsberg AS on Friday proposed a bigger payout for shareholders after posting a forecast-beating full-year net profit, as cost cuts and a strong rebound in China helped offset lower volume elsewhere.

The Copenhagen-based brewer said some markets benefited from populations that weren't able to travel, while others suffered from lack of tourism or temporary ruralization as migrant workers left the cities.

The Chinese market is assumed to be back to its normal trajectory while in other markets, such as India and Nepal, the situation remains very difficult and highly volatile, the company said. In most Asian markets, Carlsberg is assuming a slow recovery during the first half, driven by a gradual lifting of restrictions, it said.

In Western and Central Europe, Carlsberg is assuming that most restrictions will be lifted before the summer season, the company said. In Russia, consumer sentiment is increasingly being affected by the consequences of the pandemic, and the competitive environment remains fierce, it said.

Net profit attributable to shareholders for 2020 fell to 6.03 billion Danish kroner ($972.2 million), against DKK5.82 billion expected in a FactSet poll and compared with DKK6.57 billion in the previous year.

Revenue fell 11% to DKK58.54 billion, as overall beverage volume fell 3.6%, the company said.

Fourth-quarter revenue fell 13% to DKK12.45 billion, it said. The company doesn't disclose full quarterly figures in its full-year trading statements.

The brewer proposed a new share-buyback program of DKK750 million to run until April 23. It raised its dividend to DKK22 a share from DKK21 last year.

Carlsberg said that this year it expects to deliver between 3% and 10% organic growth in operating profit, and a negative currency translation impact on operating profit of around DKK200 million.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 05, 2021 02:05 ET (07:05 GMT)

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