By Anton Bridge
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s Asahi Group <9405.T> on Thursday said it aims to normalise logistical operations by February after a cyberattack in late September forced widespread suspension in areas including order processing, shipping and call centres.
The beverage maker, known for its flagship Super Dry beer, also said the personal details of 1.52 million customers may have been leaked in the September 29 attack.
It said it pushed the release of its July-September earnings results scheduled for November 12 to more than 50 days after the end of the quarter, extending postponement from 45 days.
“We can’t avoid forecasting a deterioration in our results but our mid-to-long-term management plan is unchanged,” CEO Atsushi Katsuki said at a press briefing in Tokyo.
The disruption saw restaurants, bars and stores in Japan run low on Asahi drinks. The beverage maker resumed production at six domestic factories in the week following the attack.
While logistical operations should normalise by February, not all products will be available to ship by then, Asahi said.
It also said that, on top of the customer information leak, the attack may have exposed information on 114,000 contacts and 275,000 current and former employees and their families.
Asahi said it has not confirmed any instances of the information being posted online.
Ransomware group Qilin on October 9 claimed to have orchestrated the attack. Asahi has not paid any ransom, CEO Katsuki said on Thursday.
(Reporting by Anton Bridge; Editing by Tom Hogue; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
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