- Sales in three months to end of September rise 3% to DKK25.28bn (US$3.76bn)
- For the first nine months of this year, top line increases 2.8% to DKK72.33bn (US$10.77bn)
Carlsberg has booked a continued increase in quarterly sales for 2026 so far, with its soft drinks and alcohol-free operations driving volume performance in the most recent three-month period.
Today’s announcement of a 3% lift in sales from the quarter to the end of September follows H1’s +2.7% performance, resulting in a year-to-date rise of 2.8%. A flat Q3 showing for the group in volume terms overshadowed a 9% climb in volume terms for Carlsberg’s soft drinks business, while its ‘alcohol-free brews’ volumes jumped by 11%.
The ‘premium’ portfolio, which includes brand Carlsberg’s presence in the markets where the group markets it as premium rather than mainstream, was down 3% in Q3 volumes, although the namesake beer grew its total volumes by 3%.
On a regional basis, ‘Central & Eastern Europe and India’ enjoyed a bumper quarter, posting sales of +11.7% on the corresponding period a year earlier. However, as AB InBev also flagged in its results today, China suffered from “soft consumer sentiment and bad weather”, leading to the ‘Asia’ reporting region coming in down by 4.6%.
Elsewhere, ‘Western Europe’, where soft drinks now accounts for 55% of Carlsberg’s presence, was up 2.5% in sales by value.
‘The group delivered robust revenue growth in Q3, reflecting good momentum in many markets and the resilience of our multi-beverage portfolio, which more than compensated for the challenging trading environment in China,’ said CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen.
“We further strengthened our strategic partnership with PepsiCo by expanding our collaboration into Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia, providing a strong platform to further develop a multi-beverage portfolio across the region. We expect the Sapporo joint venture in South-East Asia [which was announced in July] to complete by the end of the year, and we’re progressing the potential IPO of our Indian business.
“We’re pleased with our Q3 performance and maintain our full-year earnings guidance.”
See below for a company-sourced video, featuring Aarup-Andersen.
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- AB InBev
- Bacardi
- Campari Group
- Diageo
- Moët Hennessy
- Pernod Ricard
- Proximo Spirits
- Suntory Global Spirits
- William Grant & Sons
