Carlsberg dropped its medium-term regional profit targets and issued cautious guidance for this year, sending shares in the Danish brewer down by 6 per cent.

The world’s fourth-largest brewer said its market share in the Russian market, responsible for about 40 per cent of sales and profits, had fallen in the fourth quarter.

Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen, chief executive, justified the move to drop the targets by saying Carlsberg’s new goals were similar. But analysts and investors disagreed, noting there was no longer a specific margin target for the critical eastern European region. Carlsberg estimated 2013 would be similar to last year in all its main markets: “challenging” in western Europe, flat to some growth in eastern Europe and strong gains in Asia. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2013)