Carlsberg looking outside Malaysia to improve earning
Filed Under (Business News) by Webmaster on 29-04-2009
Tagged Under : carlsberg, expand, regional
With the yearly increase of ‘sin’ tax on alcohol, Carlsberg (2836) is looking to expand outside Malaysia market to increase earning. Carlsberg Brewery (M) Bhd hopes to complete the acquisition of two beverage manufacturers in the region this year, says chairman Datuk Lim Say Chong.
“We are looking at opportunities and hope to conclude the discussions this year,” he said after the company AGM yesterday.
The brewery is cash-rich with about RM227mil as at end-2008.
Lim said he could not disclose further information but added that the acquisitions were important for long-term growth.
According to managing director Soren Holm Jensen, Carlsberg does not view the acquisitions as “necessary”, given its strong market position and brand.
“It is not necessary but is an opportunity for us to make our money work in a better way,” he said, adding that it was also possible to make acquisitions at more “favourable” rates at this point in time.
Jensen said the main challenge for the company this year was the economic downturn, which would affect consumer spending.
“However, the beer market is relatively resilient and so far, we have not seen clear signals of a slowdown,” he said.
Other challenges include high raw and packaging material costs due to the company’s forward-buying policy (raw material prices have come off lately) and illicit alcoholic beverages, which made up about 20% of the market.
For the financial year ended Dec 31, Carlsberg made a net profit of RM76.1mil on a turnover of RM960.2mil.
