Carlsberg cheers £1.6bn profits after Britvic deal
Carlsberg has revealed stronger-than-expected profits after securing cost efficiencies sooner than expected from its takeover of Britvic.
It said synergies between the group’s Carlberg UK business and Britvic are “ahead of plan”, having already secured around 30 per cent of the predicted £110 million in the projected savings.
Carlsberg’s £3.3 billion takeover of the J20 and Robinsons squash maker was completed last year. Britvic, based in Hertfordshire, employs around 4,500 people.
The Danish drinks firm said the boost from the takeover helped operating profits increase by 22.7 per cent to 14 billion Danish krone (£1.6 billion) in 2025. It also helped overall sales volumes grow by 17.7 per cent, with total revenues up 18.8 per cent year-on-year.
However, group organic volumes were down 0.6 per cent after taking into account the loss of its contract to brew and sell San Miguel lager in the UK. Mahou San Miguel, the brand’s parent business, passed the UK licence to AB InBev.
Group CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen said: “Navigating a challenging consumer environment, we successfully integrated Britvic, prepared to take over a substantial soft drinks business in Central Asia, achieved positive results for our growth categories and accelerated growth in India. We’ve taken significant steps towards building a broad and diversified beverage portfolio.”