STRONG VOLUME GROWTH, PARTICULARLY IN ASIA

Organic volume growth 5.7%

• Organic volume development in Western Europe +5.4%, Asia +10.3% and Central & Eastern Europe -0.1% (excluding Ukraine +4.9%).
• Volume growth of international premium brands: Carlsberg +14%, Tuborg 9%, Grimbergen +11% and Somersby +1%. 1664 Blanc -4% impacted by lower volumes in Ukraine and China.
• Alcohol-free brews in Western Europe +7%; total alcohol-free brews excluding Ukraine +1%.

STRONG REVENUE GROWTH, DRIVEN BY ALL REGIONS

Organic revenue growth 15.6%

• Reported revenue growth of 16.9% to DKK 70,265m.
• Revenue/hl +9%, with strong growth in all regions.

VERY STRONG OPERATING PROFIT AND CASH PERFORMANCE

Organic operating profit growth 12.2%

• Operating profit growth reflecting on-trade recovery in Western Europe and strong Asia performance, particularly in H1, partly offset by higher commodity prices and energy costs.
• Reported operating profit growth of 13.2% to DKK 11,470m. Operating margin 16.3%.
• Reported net profit of DKK -1,063m, impacted by write-downs of DKK 10,735m.
• Adjusted net profit increase of 39.6% to DKK 9,694m.
• Adjusted earnings per share increase of 43.6% to DKK 69.3. For continuing operations, increase of 23.9% to DKK 55.7.
• Free cash flow DKK 9,884m.

DRIVING SHAREHOLDER VALUE

Total share buy-back and dividend payment for the year of DKK 7.8bn

• NIBD/EBITDA 1.23x (2021: 1.37x).
• ROIC improvement of 270bp to 15.2%; excluding goodwill +800bp to 41.6%.
• The Supervisory Board will propose to the Annual General Meeting a 13% increase in dividend to DKK 27 per share, equal to a total dividend payout of DKK 3.7bn.
• On 27 January 2023, the Group concluded the 2022 DKK 4.5bn share buy-back programme.

2023 EARNINGS EXPECTATIONS

2023 will be another challenging year. Due to our and our suppliers’ rolling hedging, last year’s commodity and energy price increases will have a significant impact on our 2023 cost of sales and logistics costs. We intend to offset the higher costs in absolute terms through pricing, mix and continued tight focus on costs. While beer historically has been a resilient consumer category, the higher prices in combination with generally high inflation may have a negative impact on beer consumption in some of our markets, particularly in Europe.

The development of the war in Ukraine and the impact on our business remain highly uncertain, as is the COVID-19 recovery in China, including consumer off-take during the Chinese New Year celebrations.

The wide guidance range reflects these significant uncertainties for 2023. Consequently, 2023 guidance is: 

• Organic operating profit development of -5% to +5%.
• Based on the currency spot rates at 6 February, we assume a translation impact of around DKK -550m for the full year.

CEO Cees ’t Hart says: “The Group delivered a strong set of results for 2022 thanks to an impressive effort by our employees across the Group and continued good execution of our strategy. The high earnings and very strong cash generation were achieved despite many challenges, including the war in Ukraine, rising energy and commodity prices, and the impact from the pandemic, particularly in Asia.

“Throughout the year, a key priority was the safety and well-being of our Ukrainian colleagues, whose resilience, courage and strength have impressed us deeply.

 “2023 will be another challenging year, but the strategic, organisational and financial health of our company is strong, and we are confident that our purpose-led and performance-driven culture will drive continued sustainable long-term value creation.

 “SAIL’22 has successfully guided our journey since 2016. Setting sail for the next five years, our new strategy, SAIL’27, continues the ambitious long-term strategic direction for the Group. As part of SAIL’27, our enhanced ESG programme, Together Towards ZERO and Beyond, sets ambitious milestones for 2030 and 2040.”

Get the Full Year highlights from our CFO Ulrica Fearn: