Beer Group President And Anadolu Efes CEO Onur Altürk Commented
Beer group delivered a solid second quarter performance, marked by 5.3% volume growth. Volatility remained elevated across our operating geographies, driven by intensifying competitive pressures in Türkiye, evolving retail dynamics in Georgia, and changing competitive landscape among market players in Kazakhstan. Moreover, inflation remained a persistent headwind especially for the domestic beer market, while heightened geopolitical tensions continued to put pressure on our export markets. In the face of these challenges, we remained focused and disciplined in executing our strategy. Our diversified geographic presence, strong brand equity, and agile operating model enabled us to deliver solid results.
2Q volume performance was supported by contributions from all our beer operations. In line with global trends, we have been observing growing momentum in the premium and value segments, which we actively incorporate into our business strategy. Accordingly, the share of our premium portfolio increased in the first half of the year, supported by ongoing brand revamp and positioning initiatives across our markets. This acceleration was primarily driven by strong performance in Türkiye, Kazakhstan and Moldova. In addition, the KEG segment delivered robust growth in Kazakhstan and Georgia, fueled by targeted commercial efforts and improved execution. Meanwhile, Türkiye beer operations made a notable contribution to the overall volume growth, achieving a 5.9% growth in the second quarter mainly driven by intensified discounting activities by the players which continued to shape market dynamics. Structural changes in the trade environment also persisted, as consumption steadily shifted from on-trade channel toward off-trade and modern trade channel. Additionally, the tourism season lagged behind expectations, leading to a more cautious outlook for 3Q volumes. While still limited in scale, the spirits business continued to contribute to our performance in Türkiye.
Our soft drinks operations maintained the growth momentum captured in the first quarter, albeit at a slower pace in the second. The growth in the period was driven by Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Iraq while volumes in Türkiye and Pakistan declined. The overall increase in soft drink volumes demonstrates the competitive advantage of the diversified portfolio of countries.
We continue to put operational excellence and financial discipline at the core of our strategy. Our focus on operational excellence is delivering tangible results, with efficiency initiatives progressing well together with profitable revenue growth program. In parallel, our commitment to financial discipline remains strong, with continued emphasis on cost and capital expenditure control measures.
As we move into the second half of the year, we are executing against clearly defined priorities in each of our key markets, ranging from portfolio optimization and localization driven growth initiatives to reinforcing profitability and ensuring sustainable cash flow generation. Overall, we remain confident in our ability to drive resilient and balanced performance across the group.
The progress we have made towards our strategic priorities during the quarter continues to motivate us, even as we remain cautious for the remainder of the year, acknowledging that it is likely to be challenging, given persistent geopolitical uncertainties and macroeconomic headwinds. Yet, we are well placed to pursue our targets with determination, backed by our strong brand portfolio, excellence in execution, and key enablers such as digital infrastructure, and agile operating model, empowered by our strong teams across the organization.