Danish brewing major Carlsberg's sale volume in India grew 40 per cent in the April-June quarter, helped by a lower base of the previous year.
The market share gain was led by its beer brand Tuborg, the Carlsberg Group said in a post-earnings statement.
"Our volumes grew strongly by 40 per cent, mainly on the back of last year's total lockdown during Q2. Led by the Tuborg brand, we saw good market share development in key states," the company said.
Commenting on the market situation, the company said its Indian business had another very volatile period with frequent changes in restrictions.
"Towards the end of the half-year, the number of daily infections declined rapidly, but the situation remains fragile," it added.
The company said its markets continued to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including in India, where volume remains below the pre-pandemic level of 2019.
"Consequently, our volumes recovered and were well above the pre-COVID levels of 2019 in markets such as China, Vietnam, Russia, Kazakhstan, Poland and Norway, while in other markets, such as India, Malaysia, Nepal, France, Switzerland and Sweden, volumes remained below the 2019 levels," it said.
Carlsberg Group said in Asia, the situation is uncertain in many markets, such as Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, India and Malaysia due to the low vaccination rates.
"Although we see a gradual return to a more normal environment in markets across Europe, other markets, particularly in Asia, remain subject to severe restrictions due to new waves of the infection," said Carlsberg CEO Cees 't Hart.
During the first half (January-June), Tuborg saw "strong growth" in markets such as China, India, Russia and Turkey.
"Increasing volumes of the Carlsberg brand in markets such as China, India, Poland and Ukraine were partly offset by lower volumes in Russia and the UK," it added.
For the first half, Carlsberg Group's organic revenue was up 9.6 per cent to 31,687 million Danish Krone ($4.97 billion).
