Malaysia: Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia not expecting any direct impact from US tariffs

Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd does not expect any direct impact from US tariffs due to its lack of exports to the United States, but is cautions that potentially weaker consumer sentiment could affect its business, The Star reported on May 8.

Carlsberg Malaysia managing director Stefano Clini said since the group does not export to the United States, it will not be directly affected by the tariffs.

“However, tariffs create uncertainty and fear, which can change consumer behaviour. Consumers may choose to spend less and save more for rainy days.

“Currently, we still do not know what the impact from the tariffs will be,” he told the media after the group’s 55th AGM yesterday.

Clini said the group remains cautious in its outlook as it continues to navigate a challenging macroeconomic environment marked by continued inflationary pressures, high interest rates, currency fluctuations and external headwinds such as the recent US tariff measures.

“However, we will continue to stick to our Accelerate SAIL growth strategy, which is basically about building on innovation and strong marketing to gain market share.

“There is no need for us to change our direction,” he stressed.

Carlsberg Malaysia completed its RM200mil brewery transformation in 2024, which included the installation of state-of-the-art bottling and canning lines and high-precision filtration systems.

The capital expenditure (capex) was invested over a three-year period from 2022 to 2024.

Looking ahead, Clini said there are still some additional projects planned, but these will be smaller in scale compared to the investments made over the past three years.

“For the next two years, capex will remain above maintenance levels. After this period, we expect to return to normal levels of investments,” he said.

Meanwhile, chief financial officer Vivian Gun Ling Ling said the current strengthening of the ringgit against the US dollar works in the group’s favour.

Gun noted that while most of the group’s sales are in Malaysia, the company also records export sales in Singapore dollars.

“Some of our raw materials are imported and priced in US dollars. Hence, the strengthening of the ringgit against the US dollar does give us some benefits.

“However, in the event that the US dollar strengthens against the ringgit, we have some export receipts as a natural hedge,” she added.

Gun explained that the company does not hedge for day-to-day operations.

“We do not hedge raw materials or packaging materials. We like to call it natural hedging.

“So, sometimes when the dollar strengthens, one side gains while the other loses, and vice versa. This gives us a bit of natural hedging,” she said.

“We do not do any hedging unless it involves a big amount that we are certain about. For example, payments for some of our capex for the longer-term.

“In those cases, we will carry out specific hedging for those costs,” she noted.