Carlsberg A/S named Cees ‘t Hart as its new chief executive officer, as the world’s fourth-biggest brewer said that currency devaluation in Russia and Ukraine will put significant pressure on the company’s performance this year.
Group beer volumes declined organically by 3 per cent last year, due to troubles in Eastern Europe, the Copenhagen-based maker of Tuborg beer said in a recent statement, as it reported fourth-quarter earnings that missed analysts’ estimates.
Dutchman ‘t Hart has been CEO of Royal FrieslandCampina NV since 2008, Carlsberg said, and replaces Joergen Buhl Rasmussen from 15 June.
The weakening rouble and political turmoil in Russia are dealing a blow to Carlsberg as the country’s biggest brewer through its ownership of Baltika. The Russian beer market has declined by more than 30 per cent in the period from 2008 to 2014, Baltika said on 29 January, when announcing the shutdown of two of its ten breweries because of the challenging macroeconomic situation and years of government regulation to curb drinking.
The brewer expects to deliver “mid- to high single-digit” organic operating-profit growth in 2015. Organic measures exclude the effects of currencies and acquisitions.
Fourth-quarter earnings before interest, taxes and one-time items fell 22 per cent to 1.79 billion kroner ($275 million). The average of nine analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg was for 1.86 billion kroner.
Bloomberg News, edited by ESM
