Carlsberg has today raised its full-year profit forecast after reporting an increase in sales in Russia, for long an important but problematic market for the Danish brewer.
Chief executive Cees 't Hart vowed in August to address poorly performing parts of the business, the world's third largest brewer, after reporting worse than expected half-year results.
The company said in a trading statement today that comparable third-quarter sales were up by 16% in its Eastern Europe region, which accounted for 18% of total sales.
Carlsberg attributed the rise to better weather and more competitive pricing in Russia, which resulted in it winning market share from its bigger global rivals Anheuser Busch Inbev and Heineken.
Sales were dented in the same quarter last year after Carlsberg attempted to raise prices.
"A combination of factors, including an easy comparison quarter, a more professional approach to the key accounts, and a better pricing of our different brands, has led to an improvement in our market share," chief executive Cees 't Hart said today on a conference call.
At 3.15 billion Danish crowns ($470m) sales in Eastern Europe in the quarter exceeded the 2.96 billion expected by analysts in a Reuters poll.
Since taking over Russia's biggest-selling brewer eight years ago Carlsberg has faced problems with Baltika due to a weaker economy and stricter rules governing where and when alcoholic drinks can be sold.
Hart took the reins last year and has increased sales in Russia by concentrating on supplying through major customers while also reducing brewing capacity.
He has also cut 2,080 jobs across the group, sold assets in Britain and closed 11 breweries in China.
The Danish company does not have a strong presence in the US and Hart declined to comment on the result of the presidential election and its impact on financial markets.
The company said it now expects a 5% rise in like-for-like operating profits in 2016, up from an earlier expectation of "low single-digit percentage growth".
Operating profit was 8.46 billion crowns last year.
However, Carlsberg's sales in its other two regions, Western Europe and Asia, came in slightly lower in the third quarter than expected by the analysts at 10.40 billion crowns and 3.98 billion.
As a result total third-quarter sales fell slightly from the same quarter last year to 17.53 billion Danish crowns ($2.64 billion), missing the 17.96 billion expected by analysts in a Reuters poll.
The company said it now sees a negative impact from currency exchange rates of 550 million crowns, down from an earlier expectation of a negative 600 million.
