AB InBev has reported a strong performance in its second quarter after organic revenue grew by 27.6% to $13.53 billion.
Despite the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the company delivered revenue growth of 3.2% versus the same quarter in 2019.
In its first-quarter results, the Belgium-based group reported an EBITDA increase of 14.2% to $4.27 billion. Meanwhile, its Q2 results increased by 31% to $4.84 billion, predicting its EBITDA to grow by between 8%-12% during FY21.
In Q2, the combined revenues of AB InBev’s global brands – Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona – increased by 23% globally and by 19.3% outside of the brands’ respective home markets.
The brewer saw its own beer volume grow by 20.5%. Additionally, its ‘Beyond Beer’ business continued to rise, with a growing revenue of 45% in Q2, delivering an average gross profit per hl that is 20% higher than the firm’s traditional beer business.
AB InBev reported increased volume growth in the US, Europe and South Africa, including a more than 50% rise in Colombia. However, China’s beer consumption declined by 4.6%, where the Covid-19 outbreak began early last year.
In the US business’ total revenue grew by 6.8%, with sales to wholesalers up 2.2%. However, sales to retailers were down to 1.4% and EBITDA declined by 0.6%.
In Brazil, revenue grew by 28.6% – more than double the digits compared to Q2 2020 and 2019 – yet EBITDA declined by 10.9%.
AB InBev CEO, Michael Doukeris, said: “The consistent execution of our commercial strategy – centred around winning brands, category development and digital transformation – delivered continued momentum in the second quarter with top-line growth 3.2% ahead of 2Q19 pre-pandemic levels, even in light of ongoing Covid-19 impacts”.
He continued: “Looking forward, we will continue to build upon our customer- and consumer-first approach to drive growth and value creation”.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024
