Japan: Asahi Breweries’ equities slipped on forecast of 10% decline in operating profit this year

Japanese beer maker, Asahi Breweries Ltd. may report a 10 % decline in operating profit for the current business year because of a decline in beer sales, the Nihon Keizai newspaper has recently reported.

The Tokyo-based company expects a group operating profit, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, of 91 billion yen ($775 million) for the year that ends Dec. 31. That would be 10 billion yen lower than the company's most recent forecast. Sales may decline 1 percent to 1.43 trillion yen, the paper said. The stock slipped 24 yen, or 1.6 percent, to 1,470, Bloomberg posted on December 28. (Prices are as of the 3 p.m. close of trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on December 27).

28 December, 2005