Carlsberg upgrades full year outlook despite sales dip

Danish brewer Carlsberg says sales dropped slightly in the third quarter, but it still upgraded its full year outlook thanks to strength in its eastern European unit.

Carlsberg said Wednesday that sales fell 4 percent to 17.53 billion kroner ($2.6 billion). It didn't publish net income figures for the three-month period.

The group said it now foresees an organic operating profit growth of around 5 percent in 2016, against a previous expectation of "low-single-digit percentages growth."

CEO Cees 't Hart said the Copenhagen-based brewer was "satisfied" with the result, adding its Eastern European business "delivered a good set of results in the quarter, ahead of our expectations." Sales in that region rose by 16 percent.

Carlsberg shares rose 0.2 percent to 615 kroner in midday trading in Copenhagen.