Denmark & China: Barclays cuts Carlsberg, expects weak China conditions to hit growth

Shares of Danish brewer Carlsberg are down 2% at DKK 928, as Barclays downgraded the brewer’s stock to "equal weight" from "overweight", saying it expects consumer weakness in China to hit Carlsberg's organic growth, Reuters reported on April 5.

Beer is a "declining category" in China where Carlsberg generates around 20% of sales and around 30% of profits, Barclays said, pointing to impact of China's real-estate market woes on the country's consumer confidence

It now expects Carlsberg to achieve only the low end of its long-term organic sales growth guidance of 4%-6%, says it prefers brewers with more diversified global presence like Heineken or AB InBev.

The broker also lowers TP to DKK 1,002 from DKK 1,098.

Out of 24 analysts covering Carlsberg, seventeen rate the stock "buy" or "strong buy" and seven rate it "hold”.