Super Dry maker Asahi aims to restore logistics by February following cyberattack

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By Anton Bridge

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s Asahi Group on Thursday said it aims to normalise logistical operations by February after a cyberattack in late September forced widespread suspension, though not all products will be available to ship by that time.

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.

Information on 114,000 contacts and 275,000 current and former employees and their families may also have been exposed, none of which has appeared online, Asahi said.

The attack caused widespread outage in areas including order processing, shipping and call centres as Asahi became the latest victim among companies worldwide targeted by hackers.

Earlier this year, automaker Jaguar Land Rover was forced to close factories while retailer Marks and Spencer had to suspend online orders.

Asahi said it pushed the release of its July-September earnings 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.

October sales at its three principal domestic-facing beverage and food units were down 10% to 40% compared with the same month last year, Asahi said.

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)