While reported volume for Carlsberg grew by 17.5%, organic volume development was down by 2%. This slight stumble follows the loss of the San Miguel license with Mahou San Miguel (MSM), which came to an end on 31 December 2024 after it opted to streamline its brands under one umbrella – Budweiser Brewing Group, which had already been distributing Mahou in the UK for several years.
The move from MSM marked the end of a 15-year licensing agreement with Carlsberg and industry spectators predicted the loss would come as a big blow.
However, Carlsberg’s results have beaten profit forecasts; and reported revenue growth was up 18.8% with organic revenue development slipping only by 0.6%. This positive outcome was helped by its acquisition of Britvic in 2025.
By category, premium beer (+5% and excluding San Miguel), soft drinks (+3%) and alcohol-free brews (+4%) all saw healthy upticks in volume. Meanwhile ‘Beyond Beer’ – comprising brands like Somersby and Garage - saw a decline of 4%.
Its international brands Tuborg (+2%), Carlsberg (+4%) and 1664 Blanc (+2%) also saw modest increases.
Organic operating profit growth was up 22.7% and Carlsberg said this was positively impacted by organic gross margin improvement, cost efficiencies and higher-than-expected Britvic synergies.
Commenting on the results, group CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen described 2025 as a “year of delivery”.
He 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. On the back of this, and supported by tight cost focus and our strong performance management processes, we achieved solid earnings growth.
“The Britvic acquisition represents a significant step for the Group, strengthening our position in the growing soft drinks category. The integration is progressing ahead of plan, and we are realising synergies earlier and at a higher level than originally anticipated.”
Alex Smith, global sector lead for consumer at analyst firm Third Bridge offered his thoughts: “Carlsberg is facing a tougher UK hospitality backdrop, where our experts say pubs are facing a more challenging trading environment. This pressure is pushing operators to demand sharper pricing from brewers, squeezing margins across the sector.
“Competition is also intensifying, with rivals such as Heineken and Coors increasingly willing to sacrifice profit in order to secure distribution space and maintain brand relevance in the on-trade.
“Our experts say Carlsberg’s acquisition of Britvic could prove strategically important in this context, opening the door to win more business in the free trade channel. By combining beer and soft drinks under one roof, Carlsberg can offer composite selling into around 60,000 independent outlets, with meaningful pricing incentives when customers source all beverages from a single supplier.
“The deal also enhances what our experts describe as Carlsberg’s leading logistical position in the UK on-trade. A larger combined distribution network allows for fuller truck loads, lower delivery costs, and improved service levels compared with third-party distributors.”
Smith added that the timing for the acquisition is “significant” following the exit of San Miguel, which is estimated to have removed 20–30% of Carlsberg’s total beer volume.
“That loss likely accelerated the push toward Britvic as a way to fill capacity, replace lost revenue,” he offered.
Boss Aarup-Andersen said the group has taken big steps towards building a broad and diversified beverage portfolio, with its combination of beer and soft drinks. He added that this approach will enable the company to meet a wide range of consumers needs and strengthen its foothold as a lead brewer on the global stage.
However, Smith warns that “Carlsberg’s strategy weakness involves spreading marketing budgets across multiple brands rather than backing one major winner” – a tactic which has been used by Heineken with Cruzcampo and Moretti successively.
