Despite the World Cup, AB InBev announces negative results at 2T18



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Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) the world's largest brewer, suffered a drop in volumes in United States s, its largest market, which thwarted the economy. momentum created for premium beer sales in Europe and Latin America during the World Cup.

The company headquartered in in Belgium announced Thursday a structural gain higher than expected but lower than expected earnings per share, affected by the performance of its operations in the United States where sales wholesalers decreased by 5.1%.

AB InBev reported that its revenues and structural gain would increase sharply in 2018, and that its growth would accelerate in the rest of the year.

He also stated that his goal was to increase revenue per hectoliter more than the rate of inflation, primarily through a strategy to persuade consumers to consume more expensive beers.

Premium lager revenues Premium with higher margins, increased in many markets for more than doubling the growth rate of the company as a whole. Part of the improvement was due to the sponsorship of the company in the World Cup which mainly concerned Budweiser.

With the exception of the United States, profits rose in all major markets, including South Africa, where volumes fell.

In its second largest market, Brazil the positive impact of the World Cup was almost wiped out by a truckers strike that took place in May, but price increases were assured of good earnings.

The chief financial officer of the company, Felipe Dutra said that the World Cup will increase annual business volumes between 0.35 and 0.10 percentage points , that beer consumption has increased during the winter days of the week in Brazil and Argentina.

The second-quarter structural gain or EBTIDA increased by 7% in comparable terms to 5 thousand 570 million, above the average forecast in a Reuters poll of 5 thousand 490 million. dollars.

Meanwhile, earnings per share rose 15.8% to $ 1.10, below average expectations of $ 1.15.

AB InBev reorganized its overall administrative structure after marketing spending at the World Cup in Russia affected second-quarter earnings growth.

The company, which is based in Leuven, Belgium, is trying to become more agile by moving from nine geographical areas to six, in which the new regions of Central America, South America and Asia-Pacific combine previously separate regions, according to a statement. The changes are part of an effort to integrate SABMiller that the company acquired in 2016 for more than 100 billion dollars.

"We are in the new business for about two years after the integration and we think it's time to adjust our structure to better reflect the opportunities we have," he said. said Dutra during a conference call with reporters. The reorganization is primarily a sales growth exercise, but could also help reduce costs, he said.

The Budweiser campaign of the football world cup, AB InBev's flagship beer, kicked off in May. Prepared to deal with Carlsberg the market leader in the host country, Russia.

AB InBev seeks higher incomes in sports tournaments and social occasions after the appearance of small brands over the past 10 years will distance much of their beer from mass brands.

To meet the challenge, the company is investing $ 2 billion in promoting its brands and improving supply chains in the United States.

The restructuring of AB InBev also puts the authorities under common marketing and incubator of the company, ZX Ventures and creates new management positions of soft drink monitoring and the retail sector of the business. The changes will come into effect on January 1st of next year.

According to Bloomberg information.

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