Belgian brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, or AB InBev (BUD,AHBIF.PK) posted a sharp decline in profit for the first quarter from past year on lower revenues.
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Revenue dropped to $9.40 billion in the first quarter from $10.45 billion in the same period of a year ago.
The group, which is awaiting to hear later this month whether the European Commission has approved its buyout of British rival SABMiller, said it remained “cautiously optimistic” for the rest of the year.
It said normalised earnings per share before currency translation, mark-to-market and pre-funding of the SABMiller deal were stable, at $0.93 from $0.94 a year earlier.
AB InBev said the SABMiller acquisition was on track to close in the second half of the year.
Overall, the company retained its forecast that revenue per litre would grow, with strong volume increases in Mexico, an improvement in the United States, a rise in revenue in Brazil and pressure in China.
AB InBev said beer volumes in Brazil had fallen 10% in the first quarter, in part due to an earlier Carnival holiday. To satisfy competition regulators, AB InBev is selling some of the target’s beer brands in Europe. Normalised profit attributable to equity holders fell to $844m from $2.294bn, and AB InBev said organic earnings growth was “more than offset” by high finance charges and currency effects.
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AB InBev sees the buyout of SABMiller as a key way to counterweight falling beer demand in big markets by building its presence in Africa and other regions where sales are going up.
