Carlsberg’s Britvic integration delivering ahead of plan

Danish brewing group Carlsberg has already achieved approximately 30% of the £110m cost synergies forecast from its acquisition of UK soft drinks firm Britvic.

Significant acceleration in the second half of the 2025 financial year has seen the savings progress ahead of plan, following completion of the £3.3b deal in January 2025.

In the 12 months to 31 December 2025, the Britvic business added DKK15.6b (£1.8b) in revenue and DKK 2.2m (£253m) in operating profit to the group, just ahead of the expected £250m full-year operating profit contribution.

These figures represent 19% of revenue and 16% of operating profit of the overall group for 2025, with Carlsberg growing revenue year-on-year by 18.8% to DKK89.1b (£9.2b) and operating profit by 22.7% to DKK14.0b (£1.6b).

The Britvic acquisition also drove strong volume growth of 17.7%. Growth categories included premium beer – up 5% (excluding San Miguel, which declined 0.6%), soft drinks – up 3% and alcohol-free brews – up 4%.

Beer brands performing well included Tuborg (+2%), Carlsberg (+4%) and 1664 Blanc (+2%).

For 2026, Carlsberg expects operating profit organic growth of 2-6%.

Group CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen welcomed the “solid earnings growth” in the face of “navigating a challenging consumer environment”.

“The Britvic acquisition represents a significant step for the group, strengthening our position in the growing soft drinks category,” he said. “The integration is progressing ahead of plan, and we are realising synergies earlier and at a higher level than originally anticipated.

“We’ve taken significant steps towards building a broad and diversified beverage portfolio. This will not only enable us to meet a wider range of consumer needs and occasions, but also strengthen our position as a world-class brewer. The combination of beer and soft drinks is therefore unlocking exciting new opportunities for both growth and value creation.”

Carlsberg previously reported strong Q3 volume growth, after Britvic delivered strongly for Carlsberg in Q2, though the Danish drinks giant had a ‘soft start’ to the year.

The Britvic acquisition made the UK Carlsberg Group’s largest market by revenue in the world, as well as creating the largest multi-beverage supplier in the UK.

Earlier last year, Carlsberg Britvic’s Tim Downes, category, revenue growth management and insights director, said the business is “open to exploring emerging spaces” and further expanding in the drinks market.