CONTINUED VOLUME GROWTH, DRIVEN BY ASIA AND THE PREMIUM PORTFOLIO

Organic volume growth 0.8%

• Organic volume development in Western Europe -2.1%, Asia +4.8% and Central & Eastern Europe -1.9%.
• Premium portfolio volume growth of 3% driven by our international premium brands: Tuborg +3%, Carlsberg +1%, 1664 Blanc +5%, Brooklyn +52% and Somersby -7%.
• Alcohol-free brews -1%; growth in Q2 of 2%.

STRONG REVENUE GROWTH IN ALL REGIONS

Organic revenue growth 11.2%

• Organic revenue growth in all regions: Western Europe +9.2%, Asia +11.7% and Central & Eastern Europe +16.3%.
• Reported revenue growth of 6.6% to DKK 37,788m, impacted by adverse foreign exchange movements.
• Revenue/hl +10%, with strong growth in all regions.

SOLID ORGANIC OPERATING PROFIT

Organic operating profit growth 5.2%

• Operating profit growth reflecting strong revenue growth, partly offset by cost inflation and higher sales and marketing investments.
• Reported operating profit impacted by adverse foreign exchange movements, declining by 2.6% to DKK 6,272m.
• Reported net profit of DKK 3,495m (2022: DKK -5,276m). Adjusted net profit of DKK 4,749m (2022: DKK 5,059m).
• Adjusted earnings per share for continuing operations of DKK 29.3 (+0.2%).
• Free operating cash flow of DKK 4,346m.

DRIVING SHAREHOLDER VALUE

Total share buy-back and dividend payment of DKK 5.0bn

• NIBD/EBITDA 1.46x.
• ROIC improvement of 30bp to 15.2%; excluding goodwill +50bp to 41.2%.
• New quarterly share buy-back programme, amounting to DKK 1bn, launched today.

SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

• On 16 July, a presidential decree temporarily transferred the management of Baltika Breweries to the Russian Federal Agency for State Property Management, despite the announcement of the sale of the business on 23 June.

2023 EARNINGS EXPECTATIONS

On 15 August, we upgraded our earnings expectations for 2023. The upgrade was due to the continued solid business performance year to date and based on our expectations for the remainder of the year:

• Organic growth in operating profit of +4% to +7%.
• Based on the spot rates at 14 August, we assume a translation impact on operating profit of around DKK -900m for 2023.

CEO Cees ’t Hart says:

“We’re satisfied with this solid set of results, which have been achieved in a challenging environment. This is the first year of executing our new strategy, SAIL’27, and we continued to invest in long-term health and growth opportunities despite significant inflation in our cost base. The strategic health of our business continues to improve, as seen from the growth of our international premium brands and continued growth in key markets in Asia.

“Thanks to the results for the first half year, we were able to upgrade our earnings expectations yesterday, and we’re today initiating a new DKK 1bn share buy-back. 

“In June, we were pleased to announce the sale of the Russian business. However, shortly afterwards, we were shocked that a presidential decree had temporarily transferred management of the business to a Russian federal agency. We’re assessing the situation and the legal consequences of this highly unexpected move and will seek to protect our assets and the value of the business.

“After eight eventful years, this is my last results announcement as CEO of the Carlsberg Group. We’re very proud of the results that we as a team have achieved, including in the turbulent times of the last few years. The long-term opportunities for Carlsberg remain significant, and I’m confident that the new CEO, Jacob Aarup-Andersen, the leadership team and our many dedicated employees will continue the value creation journey.”

Get the 2023 H1 highlights from our CFO Ulrica Fearn: