Hong Kong, Oct 29 - Tsingtao Brewery, China's best known beer brand, said on Thursday that its net profit nearly doubled in the third quarter, as barley costs remained soft and China's beer consumption continued to recover.
Tsingtao, the second-largest brewer in China by volume, said net profit rose to 615.18 million yuan ($90 million) for the three months ended September, from 318.69 million yuan a year earlier, according to a statement to the Shanghai stock exchange.
The brewer had said earlier this month that it expected profit for the first three quarters of the year to rise 75-85 percent from a year earlier, as it worked to explore the domestic market, improve brand integration and product mix and lower its costs.
Analysts had expected the Chinese brewer, which competes with Heineken, Carlsberg and Kingway Brewery, to post strong growth in quarterly earnings riding on soft barley prices, an improved gross margin and lower effective tax rate.
Shares of Tsingtao rose 19 percent in the third quarter, outperforming a 14 percent rise in the benchmarket Hang Seng Index.