Britvic deal fuels volume growth for Carlsberg

Carlsberg Group has closed the third quarter of 2025 with a significant surge in total sales volumes, propelled by the acquisition of Britvic. This strategic move is fundamentally redefining the Group’s market positioning—particularly within the UK—and substantially bolstering its non-alcoholic product portfolio.

The Group reported a revenue of DKK 24.1 billion (€3.235 billion), representing a 17.8% increase, alongside a 16.2% rise in total volumes. Thanks to the Britvic deal, Carlsberg now boasts household names such as Robinsons, MiWadi, Teisseire, and Maguary in its stable. Furthermore, in Great Britain and Ireland, Britvic holds the exclusive PepsiCo license for the production and sale of Pepsi Max, 7Up, Rockstar Energy, and Lipton Ice Tea.

Performance by Region and Product Category

While the headline figures show aggressive growth driven by M&A activity, organic performance across existing operations reveals a more nuanced picture.

• Organic Volume: Group-wide organic volume development stood at -3%. However, excluding the impact of San Miguel, the decline was a more modest -1.7%.
• Regional Trends: Western Europe saw a volume increase of 1.3% (excluding San Miguel). Conversely, Asia dipped by 1.2%, while Central & Eastern Europe and India saw a contraction of 5.2%.

On the product front, the “premiumisation” strategy continues to pay off:

• Premium Beers: +5% growth.
• Soft Drinks: +4% growth.
• International Brands: Tuborg (+2%), Carlsberg (+3%), and 1664 Blanc (+6%) all performed well.
• Alcohol-Free Brews: This segment saw a 2% contraction, largely due to the ongoing impact of the war in Ukraine. Excluding the Ukrainian market, the category actually demonstrated robust growth of 6%.
• Beyond Beer: This category faced a tougher quarter, recording a 10% decline.

CEO Perspective: Integration and Long-Term Value

“We have achieved strong results despite a challenging socio-economic backdrop across our operating regions,” commented Jacob Aarup-Andersen, CEO of Carlsberg Group. “We delivered solid volume and revenue growth in Western Europe and witnessed progressive improvement in Asia, underpinned by the excellent performance of our premium portfolio in most markets. Furthermore, the Britvic acquisition is already driving strong growth; integration is proceeding very well, and we see significant opportunities for long-term value creation through this partnership.”