Anheuser-Busch InBev Backs Guidance Despite 3Q Miss on Lower Volumes -- Update
October 31 2023 - 2:50AM
Dow Jones News
By Ian Walker
Anheuser-Busch InBev backed its full-year guidance after
third-quarter earnings missed market forecasts as volumes fell,
with drops in North American offsetting rises in other areas.
The world's largest brewer--which houses Stella Artois and
Budweiser among its portfolio--said Tuesday that overall volumes
fell 3.4% on an organic basis, missing expectations of a 2.7% fall.
Within this, North America volumes fell 17.1% compared with a fall
of 14.5% in the second quarter
Sales in the region have been falling since April when Dylan
Mulvaney, a transgender social-media star, made an Instagram post
about a personalized can of Bud Light that the brewer had sent her
as a gift. The post sparked a boycott that caused sales of Bud
Light, and other brands, to fall.
Last week, mixed-martial arts league UFC appointed InBev's Bud
Light as its official beer in the U.S. and the UFC's official
global beer partner.
Net profit for the quarter rose to $1.47 billion from $1.43
billion for the comparable period a year earlier but missed a
FactSet consensus of $1.85 billion.
Revenue for the quarter rose to $15.57 billion from $15.09
billion, driven by pricing actions, premiumization--the strategy of
emphasizing luxury versions of its products--and other
revenue-management moves. Revenue consensus was $15.72 billion.
On an organic basis, revenue grew 5.0%, beating a
company-provided market consensus rise of 4.7%.
Normalized earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and
amortization--one of the company's preferred metrics, which strips
out exceptional and other one-off items--rose to $5.43 billion from
$5.31 billion and compares with a consensus of $5.465 billion.
Looking ahead, AB InBev reiterated that it expects 2023 Ebitda
to grow in line with its medium-term outlook of between 4% and 8%,
and revenue to grow ahead of Ebitda from a healthy combination of
volume and price.
Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 31, 2023 02:35 ET (06:35 GMT)
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