Unless otherwise stated, comments in this announcement refer to full-year performance.
Financial highlights
- Organic net revenue growth of 2% to DKK 64.5bn.
- Continued solid price/mix of +3%.
- 1% organic operating profit growth driven by strong performance in Western Europe and Asia.
- Reported operating profit of DKK 9,230m impacted by negative currency impact of DKK 789m.
- 5% adjusted net profit decline to DKK 5,496m.
- Free operating cash flow of DKK 1.9bn and free cash flow of DKK 0.7bn.
- For 2014, Carlsberg A/S proposes a 13% increase in dividend per share to DKK 9.00.
Operational highlights
- Our market share increased in the majority of markets in Western Europe and Asia, and our Russian market share improved during the year.
- Group beer volumes declined organically by 3%, due to Eastern Europe.
- The implementation of the supply chain integration and business standardisation project (BSP1) continued with four markets going live in 2014.
- Our international premium portfolio continued to deliver strong growth: Tuborg (+24%), Somersby (+43%), Kronenbourg 1664 (+9%) and Grimbergen (+27%). The Carlsberg brand grew 1% in its premium markets.
2015 earnings expectations
- For 2015, the Group expects operating profit to grow organically by mid- to high-single-digit percentages.
Commenting on the results, CEO Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen says: “In 2014, we had clear priorities and focus on execution, enabling us to deliver strong organic performance in Western Europe and Asia which more than offset the market challenges in Eastern Europe. For 2015, we’ll continue to support and invest in our brands and markets to capture the long-term opportunities in our regions, but in response to the current situation, we’ve built a strong operating plan, which includes changes to our business model, with the aim to achieve further efficiency improvements faster. These changes will enable us to mitigate the significant negative earnings impact arising from the rouble weakness and Eastern European market challenges, as well as improve cash flow and return on invested capital.“
Read the entire announcement on attachment or on www.carlsberggroup.com
Contacts
Investor Relations: Peter Kondrup +45 3327 1221 Iben Steiness +45 3327 1232
Media Relations: Jens Bekke +45 3327 1412 Jim Daniell +45 3327 2874
