Carlsberg pulls out of Russia, joining rival Heineken in protest of Ukraine war

Carlsberg will exit the Russian market and take a “substantial” non-cash impairment charge, the Danish brewer said on Monday, the latest Western company to exit amid mounting pressure on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

Dutch brewer Heineken also announced on Monday it had decided to exit its Russian business at a cost of 400 million euros (US$438 million).

“We have taken the difficult and immediate decision to seek a full disposal of our business in Russia, which we believe is the right thing to do in the current environment,” Carlsberg said. “Upon completion we will have no presence in Russia.”

Carlsberg, the Western brewer most exposed to the Russian market, launched a strategic review of its Russian business this month but had kept its eight breweries in the country operating.

The decision to exit Russia would result in a “substantial non-cash impairment charge” this year, it said without providing further details.

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Carlsberg had non-current assets in Russia worth 19.2 billion Danish crowns by the end of 2021, which amounts to around 15 per cent of total assets or 44 per cent of its total equity, its annual report showed.

(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Stine Jacobsen; Editing by Edmund Blair)