Unless otherwise stated, comments in this announcement refer to H1 performance.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Organic net revenue growth of 5.1% (Q2: +7.6%); reported net revenue decline of 0.7% to DKK 30,966m (Q2: +2.9%).
• Solid price/mix improvement of +2%; positive in all three regions.
• Total organic volume growth of 3.4% (Q2: +5.0%).
• Tuborg volume growth +8%, Carlsberg +4%, Grimbergen +11% and 1664 Blanc +55%.
• Craft & speciality volume growth +26%, alcohol-free brew volumes in Western Europe +26%.
• Funding the Journey progressing well, and total net benefits now expected to exceed DKK 2.3bn (previously around DKK 2.3bn).
• Strong organic operating profit growth of 14.2%; reported growth of 6.0% to DKK 4,373m.
• Gross margin improvement of +90bp and operating margin improvement of +90bp to 14.1% with margin expansion in all three regions.
• Adjusted net profit growth of 9.6% to DKK 2,506m. Reported net profit of DKK 2,471m (+7.2%).
• Continued strong free cash flow of DKK 5.8bn (2017: DKK 5.9bn).
• Net debt/EBITDA reached 1.29x.
• ROIC improvement of 110bp to 7.6%. Excluding goodwill, improvement of 420bp to 18.6%.

2018 EARNINGS EXPECTATIONS

• Based on the strong H1 performance, the upgrade of the expected Funding the Journey benefits and a good start to Q3, we adjust our earnings expectations upwards to high-single-digit percentage organic growth in operating profit (previously mid-single-digit).
• A translation impact on operating profit of around DKK -425m (previously DKK -550m), based
  on the spot rates as at 15 August.

CEO Cees ’t Hart says: “We delivered strong results for the first six months of 2018 with healthy top-line growth, margin improvements across the regions, strong cash flow and continued debt reduction. We’re pleased to be able to adjust our earnings outlook upwards. This is a proof point that our SAIL’22 investments support our ambition of sustainable top-line growth.”