Japanese brewer Asahi continues to record buoyant growth, with the new owner of Peroni and Grolsch recording an uplift in both second-quarter revenue and profit.
For the second quarter, revenue stood 15.5% higher than last year at JPY 558.2 billion ($5.04 billion). Operating profit was up 39.3% to JPY 57.09 billion ($515.8 million).
For the first half of the year, total revenue amounted to JPY 937.38 billion ($8.47 billion) and operating profit was JPY 70.74 billion ($639.1 million).
The company has amended its revenue forecast for the entire year to more than JPY 2 trillion ($18 billion) – an increase of JPY 210 billion ($1.9 billion) – with amended forecasts for operating income, profit and earnings per share all higher by 13-15%.
Asahi acquired Miller Brands UK from SABMiller in October, adding premium brands like Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Grolsch and Meantime to its portfolio of beers.
The deal was part of SABMiller’s $100 billion merger with Anheuser-Busch, and efforts from both to appease anti-trust regulators.
At the beginning of the year, FoodBev revealed how Asahi’s fourth-quarter profits had jumped 20% – from $196 million to $234.8 million – with net sales in the final quarter of the year of $2.1 billion.
In June, it sold its remaining stake in soft drinks venture Tingyi-Asahi for $612 million.
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