PETALING JAYA: Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd
remains committed to proactively managing its costs, with continued emphasis on cost optimisation and prudent resource allocation to mitigate rising cost pressures.
TA Research said in a note that – supported by its proactive supply chain and cost management initiatives – it expects the group to continue delivering stable earnings performance, with the financial year ending Dec 31, 2026 (FY26) core profit forecast at RM376.6mil.
It said Carlsberg’s first-quarter core earnings of RM98.9mil were in line with expectations, accounting for 26% of both its and consensus’ full-year estimates.
In the first three months of the year, the group said net profit rose to RM98.94mil from RM94.52mil in the year-ago quarter.
Earnings per share climbed to 32.36 sen from 30.91 sen previously.
Quarterly revenue was up to RM705.95mil from RM662.81mil in the comparative quarter, as there was a longer selling period ahead of Chinese New Year (CNY) this year in both Malaysia and Singapore.
RHB Research said it was “encouraged” by the group’s earnings resiliency, notwithstanding the impact of the excise duty hike (effective November 2025).
This is underpinned by the stable and relatively inelastic demand for beer and Carlsberg’s continuous efficiency gain.
On the flip side, the Middle East war could have implications to input costs as it believes the bulk of the raw materials are imported.
That said, Carlsberg’s scale of operations and diversified supply sources should mitigate some of the impact.
“While we anticipate overall consumer sentiment to be dampened by the ongoing tensions, we expect Carlsberg to be more aggressive with marketing initiatives to stimulate consumer spending.
“In addition, rising tourist arrivals boosted by the Visit Malaysia Year 2026 campaign and full impact of price increases should provide further support to FY26 earnings.”
Hong Leong Investment Bank Research said the solid start was mainly driven by more favourable CNY timing and stronger profit contribution from Singapore.
HLIB Research has made no changes to its volume growth assumptions of 0.5% for Malaysia and 2.5% for Singapore.
Moreover, the research house has maintained a “buy” call on the stock with a target price of RM24.86. At last look, it stood at RM16.94.
