Carlsberg’s first-half profit beats estimates
Reduced costs and debt cuts help the Danish brewer’s defence against larger rivals, such as AB InBev
London — Danish brewer Carlsberg reported first-half profit that beat analysts’ estimates as the Tuborg maker reduced costs and cut debt, following in the wake of larger rival Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev). Earnings before interest, taxes and one-time items rose 20% to 4.13-billion kroner ($652m), the Copenhagen-based company said in a statement on Wednesday. Analysts expected 3.82-billion kroner. The brewer maintained its full-year guidance of mid-single-digit organic growth in operating profit even after earnings on that basis rose 15% in the first half. "People are going to question why the guidance is unchanged," Ed Mundy, an analyst at Jefferies, said by phone. Carlsberg is aiming to cut costs by as much as 2-billion kroner by the end of this year to defend against an enlarged and more profitable rival following the combination of AB InBev and SABMiller. Earlier this month, AB InBev merged its Russia and Ukraine business with that of Turkey’s Anadolu Efes, heaping pressure on...
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