Asahi Group Holdings, the Japanese brewer of Super Dry, forecast 2016 profit that trails analyst estimates as a slowing economy weighs on domestic sales.
Net income will probably be 80 billion yen ($697.4 million) for the year ending December 2016, up 4.7 per cent from 2015, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement Tuesday. That compares with the average estimate of 89 billion yen from 10 analysts compiled by Bloomberg. Sales are expected to grow about 0.7 per cent, it said.
A higher yen is expected to cut into the company’s profits in 2016 when it repatriates earnings from its overseas operations which make up about 13 per cent of Asahi’s total sales, said Managing Director Yoshihide Okuda at a post-earnings press conference in Tokyo Tuesday.
Asahi is among Japanese brewers looking to expand abroad to counter falling domestic consumption amid a stagnant economy, shrinking population and changing consumer tastes. Japan’s central bank unveiled negative interest rates last month as it seeks to spark growth in the country.
The company said last month that it’s considering making an offer for SABMiller Plc’s Peroni and Grolsch brands in Europe. Okuda declined to comment on the deal Tuesday.
"We will do M&As that will enhance our corporate value regardless of whether or not they’re in or out of Japan," he said at the briefing.
Asahi, which also sells spirits and non-alcoholic beverages and owns about 20 per cent stake in China’s Tsingtao Brewery Co., said it is also considering buying U.S. soft drinks company Talking Rain and the Nikkei newspaper reported in December that it could cost about 50 billion yen,.
The company plans to target a dividend payout ratio of 30 per cent by 2018 as well as at least 10 per cent return on equity in the three years through 2018, according to the Tuesday statement.
Asahi also announced that Akiyoshi Koji, the head of its beer subsidiary, will become group president, replacing Naoki Izumiya who has been appointed chairman. He will retain his post as chief executive officer.
Net income at the Japanese beer maker rose 11 per cent to 76.4 billion yen in 2015, the company said.
Asahi’s shares closed 3 per cent lower at 3,625 yen in Tokyo trading before the announcement. The benchmark Topix slumped 5.5 per cent.
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