By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Emma Rumney
COPENHAGEN/LONDON (Reuters) -Danish brewer Carlsberg reported a “solid” start to the year in China on Tuesday and said it had not seen significant changes in consumer habits across other markets but warned of volatile sentiment.
Carlsberg, the world’s third largest brewer behind Anheuser-Busch InBev and Heineken, maintained its outlook for the full year despite reporting first-quarter sales slightly below expectations.
“It was a soft start to the year,” CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen said in a statement, referring to the consumer and economic backdrop.
Total sales volumes grew by 14.5% in the quarter from a year earlier, lifted by last year’s acquisition of British soft drinks maker Britvic, although organic sales volumes dropped 2.3%.
“We have not seen any material changes in consumer behaviour in our markets during the first quarter, but the global macroeconomic environment and consumer sentiment are volatile and uncertain,” Carlsberg said.
Carlsberg has little direct exposure to President Donald Trump’s tariffs on U.S. imports, as the United States only accounts for a small fraction of its overall sales.
However, businesses have warned of aftershocks that could dent consumer confidence globally, stir inflation, and raise the costs of materials. Carlsberg uses barley and aluminium and glass in its production.
The company still expects between 1% and 5% growth in organic operating profit for the current year.
Volumes in China, Carlsberg’s biggest market, grew 2% driven by its premium portfolio and sales in big cities.
However, sales of local mainstream brands in the western part of the country were hit by weak consumer sentiment, it said.
The Chinese beer market contracted 4% last year, with a further estimated low-single-digit percentage decline in the first three months of this year, Carlsberg said.
That was despite China’s first-quarter economic growth outstripping expectations, underpinned by solid consumption. However, analysts say U.S. tariffs could shift momentum sharply lower.
Carlsberg last year generated 17% of its revenue in China, where it has 27 breweries.
Global sales in the first three months of the year rose 17% from the same period of 2024 to 20.12 billion Danish crowns ($3.07 billion), compared with the 20.4 billion forecast by analysts in a poll gathered by the company.
The company did not provide any profit numbers for the first quarter.
($1 = 6.5565 Danish crowns)
(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Emma Rumney, Editing by Louise Heavens, Kirsten Donovan)
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