Carlsberg fell the most in almost four months in Copenhagen trading after the ruble declined and the brewer’s CEO said he sees no near-term fix to the company’s plight in Russia.
Carlsberg shares fell as much as 4.2 per cent, the most since 20 August.
The drinks giant, which generates about a third of its earnings in Russia, has suffered losses on the back of the ruble’s slump.
CEO Joergen Buhl Rasmussen said yesterday that the Russian market remains “challenging” for Carlsberg.
“It’s hard to see a solution just around the corner,” Buhl Rasmussen said at a Copenhagen presentation for journalists. “The ruble is lower. It has a negative impact.”
“The ruble’s decline is substantially watering down the group’s income,” Frans Hoyer, an analyst with Jyske Bank A/S, said. “The market is still way too optimistic about Carlsberg.”
Danske Bank A/S today lowered its recommendation on Carlsberg to hold from sell, saying it’s taking “a more careful stance towards Carlsberg’s Russian exposure.”
