Q3 2026 Trading Statement
Trading Statement Q3 2026 - Continued Profitable Growth
COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT NO 58/2026 - November 11, 2026
Key Highlights YTD and Q3 2026
- Solid underlying net revenue growth of 4.0%* in Q3 and YTD 2026
- Continued margin expansion with EBIT growth of 6.3% YTD 2026 (Q3 2026: 5.5%), despite increasing cost inflation and weather-related headwinds in parts of the Nordics in Q3
- Double-digit EPS growth of 10.2% YTD 2026
- Strong free cash flow of DKK 1,164m YTD 2026, supporting the ongoing share buy-back
- Plans toward 2029 are progressing as expected, with continued focus on own-brand growth and exploring new partnership opportunities
- Full-year 2026 organic EBIT growth guidance narrowed to 6–8% from 6–10%
Lars Jensen, CEO of Royal Unibrew, comments: "We delivered another quarter of solid commercial execution, with market share gains across most markets and continued improvement in profitability despite increasing inflationary pressure. The strength of our brands and commercial capabilities provides a solid foundation, and we are actively addressing higher input costs through pricing, cost, and efficiency measures. However, the inflationary environment remains uncertain and could put further pressure on consumer sentiment and discretionary spending. Against this backdrop, we have narrowed our full-year organic EBIT growth guidance to 6–8%.”
Selected Financial Highlights and Ratios
| mDKK | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | % Change | YTD 2026 | YTD 2025 | % Change | FY 2025 |
| Volume (million hectoliters) | 5.0 | 4.9 | 1.4 | 14.0 | 13.7 | 1.6 | 18.1 |
| Organic volume growth (%) | 1.4 | 3.7 | 1.5 | 3.8 | 3.7 | ||
| Net revenue | 4,345 | 4,301 | 1.0 | 12,082 | 11,945 | 1.1 | 15,723 |
| Organic net revenue growth (%)* | 1.0 | 4.3 | 0.8 | 3.2 | 3.3 | ||
| Gross profit | 2,011 | 1,970 | 2.1 | 5,398 | 5,245 | 2.9 | 6,766 |
| Gross margin (%) | 46.3 | 45.8 | 44.7 | 43.9 | 43.0 | ||
| EBIT | 820 | 777 | 5.5 | 1,845 | 1,736 | 6.3 | 2,202 |
| Organic EBIT growth (%) | 5.5 | 14.2 | 6.1 | 11.4 | 10.2 | ||
| EBIT margin (%) | 18.9 | 18.1 | 15.3 | 14.5 | 14.0 | ||
| Free cash flow | 706 | 515 | 37.1 | 1,164 | 973 | 19.6 | 1,413 |
| ROIC incl. goodwill (%)** | 13.0 | 12.5 | 12.7 | ||||
| Earnings per share | 12.5 | 11.3 | 10.6 | 26.9 | 24.4 | 10.2 | 31.4 |
| Net interest-bearing debt (NIBD) | 6,160 | 6,020 | 5,730 | ||||
| NIBD/EBITDA (times)** | 2.0 | 2.1 | 2.0 |
* Underlying net revenue growth was approximately 4% in Q3 and YTD 2026, excluding the exit from lower-margin activities
** Trailing 12 months
Financial Review
Commercial execution remained solid in Q3 2026, supporting market share gains in most markets and continued profitable growth. Key strategic categories performed well, with own brands remaining the main growth driver.
Volume growth reached 1.4% in Q3 2026 (YTD 2026: 1.6%), while net revenue increased by approximately 4% both in Q3 and YTD 2026, adjusted for the exit from lower-margin activities.
EBIT increased by 5.5% to DKK 820m in Q3 2026 (YTD 2026: +6.3% to DKK 1,845m), while the EBIT margin improved by 80 basis points, despite increasing inflationary pressure across several cost categories and continued long-term investments in our brands and commercial capabilities.
Full-Year Outlook 2026
The organic EBIT growth guidance for full-year 2026 is narrowed to 6-8% from previously 6-10%. The updated guidance corresponds to EBIT of DKK 2,325–2,380m compared with DKK 2,202m in 2025.
The narrowing of the guidance range mainly reflects challenging market conditions in Finland, supply chain issues in BeNeLux and increasing cost inflation. In addition, EBIT is impacted by DKK 12m of accelerated amortization related to the PepsiCo partnership.
Net revenue for 2026 is expected to be slightly above 2025, reflecting continued growth in the beverage business, partly offset by the exit from the snack category and other lower-margin activities.
CAPEX is now expected in the level of 6% of net revenue, down from around 7% previously, reflecting the timing of some projects, with some investments now expected to fall into 2027.
The underlying assumptions remain unchanged and are described in further detail in the trading statement.
Conference Call
Investors and analysts can register for a conference call on November 12, 2026, at 09:00 a.m. CET at the following links:
Webcast: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/9kfj3nbs/
Phone: https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BI3709c710359440668e76b9650f66c893
For Further Information:
- Investor Relations, Flemming Ole Nielsen, +45 25 41 68 04, flemming.nielsen@royalunibrew.com
- Media Relations, Michelle Nørrelykke Hindkjær, +45 25 64 34 31,press@royalunibrew.com
Forward-looking Statements
This trading statement contains forward-looking statements, including statements about the Group’s sales, revenue, earnings, spending, margins, cash flows, inventories, products, actions, plans, strategies, objectives and guidance with respect to the Group’s future operating results. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future results, performance or achievements, and may contain words or phrases such as “believe, anticipate, expect, estimate, intend, plan, project, will be, will continue, likely to result, could, may, might”, or any variations of such words or other words with similar meanings. Any such statements involve known and unknown risks, estimates, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause the Group’s actual results, performance or industry results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Royal Unibrew assumes no obligation to update or adjust any such forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting such forward-looking statements.
Some important risk factors that may have direct bearing on the Group’s actual results include, but are not limited to: economic and political uncertainty (including interest rates and exchange rates), financial and regulatory developments, development in the demand for the Group’s products, introduction of and demand for new products, changes in the competitive environment and the industry in which the Group operates, changes in consumer preferences, increasing industry consolidation, the availability and pricing of raw materials and packaging materials, cost of energy, production- and distribution-related issues, information technology failures, breach or unexpected termination of contracts, price reductions resulting from market-driven price reductions, determination of fair value in the opening balance sheet of acquired entities, litigation, pandemic, environmental issues and other unforeseen factors.
New risk factors may emerge in the future, which the Group cannot predict. Furthermore, the Group cannot assess the impact of each factor on the Group’s business or the extent to which any individual risk factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied on as a prediction of actual results.