Japan's four major brewers suffered during the January-June period, chiefly due to sluggish beer sales during the first three months of the year.
At the same time, three of the four raised their full-year sales targets for malt-free beerlike beverages, which have seen stronger-than-expected demand as a cheap alternative to regular beer.
Kirin Brewery Co., the largest brewer in terms of sales, said Wednesday that its operating profit fell 16 percent to 37.53 billion yen, on revenue of 740.28 billion yen, down 2.5 percent on a year-on-year basis.