Carlsberg says third-quarter beer volume fell 3.5% after weaker demand hit China

Carlsberg said on Thursday, October 29, that its beer sales volume fell by about 1 million hectoliters in the third quarter, as weakness in Asia and Western Europe outweighed growth in Central and Eastern Europe and India.

The Copenhagen-based brewer reported beer volume of 26.7 million hectoliters for the quarter, down 3.5% from 27.7 million hectoliters a year earlier, according to its trading statement for the period ended September 30. For the first nine months of 2026, beer volume fell to 78.9 million hectoliters from 80.4 million hectoliters, a decline of 1.9%. Because the company reports rounded volume figures in its summary table, the absolute drop is approximate.

The third-quarter decline was sharper than the drop recorded for the January-through-September period, showing that pressure on beer volumes intensified during the summer quarter. The biggest drag came from Asia, where beer volume fell 7.9% in the quarter to 9.7 million hectoliters from 10.5 million hectoliters. Western Europe also declined, with beer volume down 4.2% to 6.9 million hectoliters from 7.2 million hectoliters.

By contrast, Carlsberg’s Central and Eastern Europe and India region posted beer growth of 1.7% in the quarter, reaching 10.1 million hectoliters from 10.0 million hectoliters a year earlier. That increase was not enough to offset the declines in the company’s two other beer regions.

For the first nine months of the year, the regional pattern was similar. Asia fell 3.2% to 31.6 million hectoliters from 32.6 million hectoliters, while Western Europe dropped 4.0% to 19.9 million hectoliters from 20.7 million hectoliters. Central and Eastern Europe and India rose 1.3% to 27.4 million hectoliters from 27.1 million hectoliters.

Carlsberg linked much of the weakness in Asia to China. In its statement, the company said volume development in the region was “mainly due to China” and described the decline there as expected. It said Chinese demand was affected by weak consumer sentiment and by destocking after severe rainfall during the peak season in June and July had left inventory levels elevated. Excluding China, Carlsberg said Asian volumes grew organically by 1%.

The company also gave a broader picture of trading conditions across its portfolio. It said premium beer volumes declined 3% during the quarter, mainly because of weak development in China during the summer. At the same time, alcohol-free brews rose 11% and soft drinks and other beverages increased 9%, helped by growth in markets including the United Kingdom, the Nordics and parts of Asia.

That wider beverage mix helped soften the impact of lower beer sales. Total beverage volume, which includes beer as well as soft drinks and other beverages, edged up 0.3% in the third quarter to 40.8 million hectoliters from 40.6 million hectoliters. In Western Europe, total beverage volume rose 0.3%, while Asia fell 6.7% and Central and Eastern Europe and India grew 7.5%.

In Western Europe, Carlsberg said soft drinks and other beverages supported overall volume, while mainstream beer was weak, particularly in the United Kingdom, Poland and Germany. In Central and Eastern Europe and India, the company said beer growth was driven by double-digit gains in South Asia and by growth in premium beer and alcohol-free brews. Soft drinks and other beverages in that region jumped 41.2%, helped by the expansion of the Pepsi business in Kazakhstan.

Carlsberg kept its full-year earnings outlook unchanged despite the pressure on beer volumes. The group said it still expected organic operating profit growth of 4% to 6% in 2026. Chief executive Jacob Aarup-Andersen said the company delivered robust revenue growth in the third quarter and pointed to momentum in several markets and to the strength of its multi-beverage portfolio.

Carlsberg A/S ranked as the world’s fourth-largest brewer by beer production in 2025, with 99 million hectoliters, according to industry supplier BarthHaas. The latest figures from the Danish group point to a year in which beer volumes remained under pressure in some of its largest markets, especially China, even as other categories and regions provided some support.