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## from the CEO 

In 2013, the Carlsberg Group delivered solid earnings growth driven by strong and focused execution in the front and back ends of the business. Operating profit increased organically by 5% and adjusted net profit increased by 5%. 

We delivered our solid results in a year of challenging macroenvironment in West- ern and Eastern Europe. In Russia, the beer market was even further challenged by the outlet restrictions that came into force in January. Our results demonstrate our ability to constantly execute and innovate effect- ively while maintaining tight control of our costs. 

## BALANCING VOLUME AND VALUE 

I am pleased to report that this year the Group once again achieved volume and value market share growth in all our regions as a result of our strong international and local brand portfolio, a number of successful innovations, and our powerful commercial execution, including effective use of our best-in-class sales and marketing tools such as portfolio optimisation and value management. 

Despite the positive development in our market share, Group beer volumes declined organically by 2%. The growing volumes in Asia were not enough to offset the volume decline in Eastern and Western Europe caused by declining markets. 

Ensuring an appropriate balance between volume and value in all our markets is key to the Carlsberg Group and in 2013 we again im- proved both net revenue and gross profit per hl. 

## STRONG BRAND PORTFOLIO 

The Carlsberg Group has a very strong portfolio of brands addressing the relevant consumer needs and occasions. An import- ant part of our commercial strategy and an important means to continued improvement in our market share is to grow our strong lo- cal power brands as well as our international premium brands – Carlsberg, Tuborg, Kronen- bourg 1664, Grimbergen and Somersby. 

The Carlsberg brand grew its volumes in the premium markets in the second half of the year but declined 2% for the full year as we were cycling last year’s EURO 2012 activations, when the brand grew 8%. In Asia, the brand showed particularly strong performance in China and India. During the year, we rolled out the innovative music en- gagement programme “Where’s the Party?” in 20 markets; started activation of our English Premier League sponsorship in 53 markets, including the launch of the innova- tive “Strikr” app, which is the first app to let fans have real-time football conversation on Twitter; and renewed our long-standing partnership with Liverpool FC. The activa- tion on digital media platforms continued successfully and the viral “Carlsberg puts friends to the test” achieved over 13m views on YouTube. 

The Tuborg brand grew 10% for the year. The growth was mainly driven by very strong performance in Asia, not least in China and India. We continued the brand’s rejuvenation programme, supported by the launch of Tu- 

borg Booster in India, the new Tuborg bottle in the UK and the launch of Skøll by Tuborg in France. 

Kronenbourg 1664 continued its positive momentum with 6% growth (excluding France, which was impacted by destocking following a significant excise duty increase). We introduced the brand in new markets, and the successful roll-out of the wheat beer Kronenbourg Blanc contributed to the overall brand development, particularly in Asia. 

Our cider brand, Somersby, continued its very strong progress and grew 78%. The key drivers behind the growth were the launch in the UK, continued positive performance in Poland and line extensions in established markets such as Wild Cactus by Somersby in Denmark and Double Press in Norway. The brand is now available in 40 markets around the world and I am proud of the fact that it continues to be the fastest growing interna- tional cider brand. 

The Group’s Belgian abbey beer Grimbergen continued its successful expansion in 2013 and is now available in 33 markets globally. Dur- ing the year, Grimbergen was launched in nine new markets, including Denmark and Poland, and we took over the distribution in Russia. 

## CSR 

In 2013, we delivered on our three-year targets for energy and CO$_{2}$ and we almost succeeded in reaching our three-year target for water. We have subsequently set new three-year targets to maintain the leading position among our international peers. 

A key priority in our CSR efforts is packaging. In order to reduce dependency on primary 

