Japan: Asahi Breweries H1 profit to miss target-paper

Asahi Breweries Ltd.'s first-half profit is likely to fall short of target, and the company may revise down its full-year outlook if alcohol sales are weak in July, the Nihon Keizai business daily said on June 30, according to Reuters.

Japan's biggest beer maker is likely to book around 28 billion yen ($243.5 million) in operating profit for the six months to end-June, a 9 percent drop from the same period a year earlier, and less than its estimate of 33.5 billion yen, the paper said. Asahi Breweries, known for Super Dry beer, declined to comment on the report.

Sales of regular beer, where Asahi holds nearly half of the market, have been relatively robust, but sales of cheaper low-malt "happoshu" and no-malt beer-like drinks have been struggling as rival Kirin Brewery is strong in these categories.

Asahi's combined beer sales -- regular beer, happoshu, and beer-like drinks -- dropped more than 4 percent in the January-May period. For the year to December, Asahi had forecast that its combined beer sales would rise 3.4 percent from the previous year.

Asahi expects its operating profit to rise 16 percent to 105 billion yen in 2006, above the consensus projection of 94.8 billion yen in a poll of 12 analysts by Reuters Estimates.

To boost sales of beer-like drinks and win more market share in the growing segment, Asahi introduced a new product, Gubinama, in May, but its total beer sales are likely to fall short of the company's first-half target of a 3 percent increase, the paper said.

Half-year sales will likely rise 2 percent to 668 billion yen thanks to the acquisition of baby food maker Wakodo Co. and healthy results from its soft drink subsidiary Asahi Soft Drinks , the paper said.

Shares in Asahi were up 0.56 percent at 1,622 yen by the midday break on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, underperforming a 2.04 percent rise in the Nikkei average . ($1=115.00 Yen)

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