On Thursday, Carlsberg will report its results from the first three months of 2020. The company is going up against sales in the corresponding period a year ago of DKK12.7bn (US$1.91bn). Here’s a look at the news that will likely shape the firm’s performance in the first quarter.
- The year started with the brewer’s UK division unveiling plans to replace its namesake 0.0 lager with a non-alcoholic pilsner version, Carlsberg Nordic. The beer will roll out across the country this year
- In the first week of February, the group posted a 3.2% sales increase for the full-year of 2019. Asia had the most impact, with sales in the region climbing 12.3% in the 12 months
- On the same day, CEO Cees ‘t Hart told just-drinks about plans to reopen its China production sites once the government-ordered shutdown, to combat the coronavirus outbreak, was lifted. “We are on track [for a 10 February restart], but it depends on the circumstances,” ‘t Hart said. “When the Government gives permission to reopen the breweries, we will do so”
- Despite the rising death toll from COVID-19 in China and the government introducing wider travel restrictions in early-February, Carlsberg echoed The Coca-Cola Co’s view that the virus would not impact its longer-term performance in the country
- In the CSR arena, Carlsberg boasted at the end of the month that between 2015 to 2019, it had cut its carbon emissions by 30% as a part of the ‘Together Towards ZERO’ programme. The group also announced that 29 of its breweries had switched to 100% renewable electricity
- March started with corporate affairs VP Anders Bering confirming his departure. Bering is set to join Mars as VP for global public affairs, starting this Friday
- A client note from Bernstein in mid-March underlined the gravity of the coronavirus crisis in China. Euan McLeish forecast that beer sales in the country would crash in the first quarter, with Carlsberg’s partner in the country, Chongqing Breweries, poised to see its top-line slide in the period by as much as 34%
- Towards the end of the month, the brewer donated EUR12.7m (US$15.8m) to help fund research into COVID-19. The Carlsberg Foundation gave EUR8m to research projects and EUR6.6m to virological researchers from the University of Copenhagen, Aarhus University and the Serum Institute. The remaining EUR1.3m went to researchers at Roskilde University
- Just after the first quarter came to a close, Carlsberg suspended its 2020 performance forecasts. At the same time as announcing the abandonment of guidance, the group also detailed a series of cost-cutting measures, including a marked reduction in marketing spend
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