By Aimee Look

Carlsberg's net profit fell as consumer appetite for beer softens and the Danish brewer leans into its soft drink offerings.

The company booked 5.95 billion Danish kronor ($941.7 million) in net profit for 2025. Analysts had expected 7.09 billion kronor, according to company-compiled figures, after the company achieved net profit of 9.12 billion kronor in 2024.

Beer volumes contracted to 99 million hectoliters, from 101.2 million hectoliters the year prior. Carlsberg's soft drinks and other beverages category doubled to 49.0 million hectoliters, from 24.5 million hectoliters the year prior.

Chief Executive Jacob Aarup-Andersen said on a call with investors that Carlsberg expects to deliver cost synergies from its acquisition of U.K.-based soft-drinks maker Britvic sooner than anticipated.

While reporting earnings Wednesday, Carlsberg said it expects between 2% and 6% in organic operating profit growth for 2026. For 2025, it achieved the higher end of its 3% to 5% guidance range.

"We've taken significant steps towards building a broad and diversified beverage portfolio," Aarup-Andersen said. "The combination of beer and soft drinks is therefore unlocking exciting new opportunities for both growth and value creation."

Major brewers have been grappling with declining volumes as consumers drift away from beer and show growing appetite for other beverages, with Carlsberg's peers showing similar results in their most recent earnings. The company's strong earnings visibility is in large part due to the Britvic acquisition proceeding as planned, RBC analysts wrote in a note to clients.

The brewer's preferred metric, adjusted operating profit, rose to 13.36 billion kronor from 11.41 billion kronor the year before. Analysts had expected 13.82 billion kronor, according to company-compiled estimates.

Revenue grew 18.8% to 89.1 billion kronor. Analysts had expected 89.63 billion kronor.

Write to Aimee Look at aimee.look@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 04, 2026 06:05 ET (11:05 GMT)

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