Danish brewer maintains Vietnam sales volume despite beer-market dip

The beer market in Vietnam remained difficult with an estimated “mid-single-digit” percentage decline in the first quarter of this year, but Danish brewer Carlsberg managed to maintain flat sales volume.

In its Q1/2024 performance review, Carlsberg notes that it managed to maintain flat volume in the face of “very strong competition” with strong growth of premium brands.

Carlsberg CFO Ulrica Fearn said that the brewer continued to expand its distribution network in Vietnam in Q1/2024 as part of its market expansion strategy.

CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen said Carlsberg’s total premium beer portfolio grew by 8% globally, mainly driven by key Asian markets like Vietnam and China, apart from Ukraine, Serbia and Poland.

The total volume of “Carlsberg,” a premium brand, grew by 15%, thanks to very strong growth in markets like China, India, Ukraine and Vietnam, he said.

Similarly, “Tuborg,” another premium product, grew by 8%, supported by growth in China, Vietnam, India, Italy and Croatia.

Its “1664 Blanc” brand achieved good growth in both western, central and eastern Europe as also in Asia, including China and Vietnam, Aarup-Andersen said.

Reviewing its performance in Asia, Carlsberg said organic revenue growth was 7.6% year-on-year and revenue per hectoliter went up 4%, while organic volume growth was 3.1%.

However, “the organic revenue growth was offset by a currency impact of negative 8.5%.”

Globally, Carlsberg’s revenue went up 4.4% year-on-year to DKK17.1 billion in Q1/2024, “impacted by currency effect of minus 2.6%,” according to Aarup-Andersen.

In related news, the Q1/2024 performance review by Dutch brand Heineken said "the beer market in Vietnam declined by a mid-single-digit in the first quarter of this year," but Heineken’s net revenue (before “exceptional” items and “amortization-beia” formula) was up in the mid-teens.

The Vietnamese beer market continued to be impacted by a “soft consumer environment” and “stricter enforcement of zero tolerance whilst driving regulations,” the Heineken report said.

Among domestic brands, Habeco suffered a net loss of VND21 billion ($828,570) in Q1/2024. This was its the first quarterly loss following three consecutive quarters of positive results, and the biggest quarterly loss since Q1/2020.

Sabeco, now owned by Thai beverage giant ThaiBev, reported post-tax profits of VND1,023.7 billion ($40.3 million) in the quarter, up 2% year-on-year, on revenues of VND7,183.5 billion, up 15.6%. The profit met 22.4% of its 2024 target.