Japan: Asahi sees double-digit sales drop in October after cyberattack

Japanese beverage giant Asahi Group Holdings says it suffered a double-digit drop in sales in October, the month after a cyberattack shut down its systems, NHK World reported on November 13.

Asahi said on November 13 that sales of soft drinks plunged about 40 percent in value terms compared to the same period a year earlier.

But the company's mainstay beer products performed better, with sales declining less than 10 percent. Asahi attributed that to its focused efforts in resuming order processing and shipments. It pointed to a large product lineup of non-alcoholic beverages as a factor behind the gap in sales.

By contrast, rival beer makers enjoyed strong growth last month.
Kirin Brewery reported a 19-percent jump in revenue from beer sales, while Sapporo Breweries posted a 13-percent increase in terms of volume. Both said they received more orders from eateries and other businesses.

Asahi is still struggling to fully restore its computer systems nearly one and a half months after the ransomware attack.