On Tuesday, Danish brewing company Carlsberg reported a loss in the first quarter. The company also stated that it has seen rise in operating profit in the first quarter due to growth in beer volumes in Asia and Western Europe.

According to the company, its operating profit rose to about 661 million Danish crowns from about 453 million crowns in 2014. Earlier, a poll had predicted that the operating profit will be 595 million crowns, but the company succeeded in surpassing the forecast.

As per reports, Carlsberg is still suffering from poor conditions in countries like Russia and Ukraine. Sales by volume at the company's Eastern Europe unit dropped about 16% in the first quarter. In addition, the Danish brewer's net revenues dropped by 30% to about 1.735 billion crowns.

The fall in the company's Eastern Europe unit was hindered by economic woes in Russia. According to the reports, the falling rouble currency and the conflict in Eastern Ukraine region, led the company to see decline of about
1%. The company reported that revenues for the first quarter was about 13.5 billion Danish crowns, which is higher than a forecast of about 13.1 billion crowns in a recent poll by Reuters.

While reporting its annual report, Carlsberg stated that the annual report conditions in areas like Ukraine and Russia could put pressure on its overall performance. The company has closed two breweries in Russia, which resulted in cutting brewing capacity by about 15%.

As per the reports, the company has presented its last set of results under the control of Chief Executive Jorgen Buhl Rasmussen. Rasmussen is going to retire next month and will be replaced by the head of Dutch dairy company Royal FrieslandCampina.