Carlsberg reported a 22 percent drop in fourth-quarter operating profit on Wednesday (February 18th).
It also announced that its chief executive, Jorgen Buhl Rasmussen will retire in June - he will be replaced by the its first non-Danish leader, Cees 't Hart.
The company's operating profit before special items dropped from $350m (€308m) to $276m (€243) - below analysts' expectation of a profit closer to $290m (€255).
The Danish brewers reported particularly poor sales in Russia - it is the country's biggest beer-maker.
The Russian beer market has contracted by over 30 percent since 2008 as the government has introduced new regulations aimed at curbing alcoholism.
Sales suffered further set-backs as the Russian economy struggled.
The brewing company is more reliant on the Russian market than its main competitors. It is likely that it will struggle again in the first quarter of 2015.
A statement from the company said: "The expected GDP decline and currency devaluation in Russia and Ukraine will put significant pressure on the Group's overall performance."
Sales in the company's most-stable region, western-Europe also fell by 4 percent.
The company's new boss, Dutch-man Cees ’t Hart is the head of dairy company Royal FrieslandCampina NV, and formerly spent 25 years with Unilever.
