Carlsberg

I gave a presentation on Carlsberg today in preparation for the Scandinavia study trip. They are quite an innovative brewery and I am very excited to meet with one of their Senior VPs, Alex Meyers. See below a quick overview of the presentation.

Carlsberg History

• Founded in 1847 by J.C. Jacobsen (after the name of his son Carl)
• Public company with over 30,000 employees and $10 billion (US$) market cap
  
• Merged with Orkla ASA in 2001, becoming the 5th largest brewery in the world

Carlsberg Brands

• Carlsberg Pilsner (4.6% ABV)
• Carlsberg Light (2.7% ABV)
• Carls Porter (7.8% ABV)
• Carls Hvede (5.8% ABV; interesting because until recently wheat beer was illegal in Denmark!)
• Tuborg (4.6% ABV)
• Tuborg Easter Brew (5.7% ABV; seasonal beer that will be released while we are in Scandinavia)

Financial Outlook

• Steady growth in volume over last 5 years
• Strong growth in EBIT (30%) because of "innovation and strong presence of international brands Carlsberg and Tuborg" -- CEO Jorgen Rasmussen

EBIT and Stock Price Growth over last 5 years

International Growth

• Clear market leader in Russia (38% market share)
• 25% increase in volume in Asia

Merger with Scottish & Newcastle

• Carlsberg and Heineken launched a joint bid to break up UK's Scottish & Newcastle in 2007
• $15.3 billion US (50% premium over share price)
• Carlsberg would gain sole possession of Baltic Beverages and S&N's French, Greek and Chinese Operations
• However, the European Commission announced this Monday (3/1/08) that it is postponing its review of the merger until April of this year

World's Most Expensive Beer

• Introduced Jacobsen Vintage #1 on Jan 25, 2008
  
• Costs 2,008 DKK (~$400 US)
• 600 bottles of the 10.5% ABV beer will be released in 2008
• Plans to release 2,009 and 2,010 version as well
  

"Probably the best beer in the world"

• Carlsberg Advertising slogan
• See the embedded online video about Carlsberg below: