Carlsberg Posts Drop In Profit

Carlsberg A/S CABGY reported a decline in its net profit for the fourth quarter. Carlsberg also announced the resignation of its Chief Executive Jorgen Buhl Rasmussen. Carlsberg's quarterly net profit slipped around 78% to 278 million Danish kroner ($42 million), compared to DKK1.25 billion in the year-ago period. However, analysts were projecting a profit of DKK981 million. Its sales fell 8% to DKK14.33 billion from DKK15.66 billion, while operating profit fell to DKK1.79 billion from DKK2.32 billion. For 2014, Carlsberg's board proposed a dividend of DKK9.00 per share. For fiscal 2014, Carlsberg's consolidated profit attributable to shareholders slipped to 4.41 billion Danish kroner versus 5.47 billion kroner, while EPS fell to 28.9 kroner from 35.9 kroner. Its adjusted net profit for the year declined to 5.50 billion kroner. or 36 kroner per share, from 5.77 billion kroner, or 37.8 kroner last year. Net revenue for the year climbed to 64.51 billion kroner from 64.35 billion kroner. Beer sales volumes shrank to 134.5 million hl versus 138.7 million hl. CEO Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen said, "For 2015, we'll continue to support and invest in our brands and markets to capture the long-term opportunities in our regions, but in response to the current situation, we've built a strong operating plan, which includes changes to our business model, with the aim to achieve further efficiency improvements faster. These changes will enable us to mitigate the significant negative earnings impact arising from the rouble weakness and Eastern European market challenges, as well as improve cash flow and return on invested capital." Carlsberg's shares gained 2.16% to close at $16.59 yesterday.