COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Danish brewer Carlsberg on Tuesday forecast organic operating profit growth in 2023 below last year’s level as higher beer prices are expected to dent consumption.
The world’s third-biggest brewer expects organic operating profit this year to change by between minus 5% and plus 5%, compared with 12% growth last year.
“2023 will be another challenging year,” Chief Executive Cees ‘t Hart said in a statement.
“While beer historically has been a resilient consumer category, the higher prices in combination with generally high inflation may have a negative impact on beer consumption in some of our markets, particularly in Europe,” he said.
Carlsberg said sales in the fourth quarter rose 6% from a year earlier to 14.6 billion Danish crowns ($2.11 billion), against 14.7 billion crowns estimated by analysts in a poll provided by the company.
($1 = 6.9344 Danish crowns)
(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, editing by Terje Solsvik)
