SABMiller 3Q Financial Performance Meets Hopes, Volumes -1%

Brewing giant SABMiller PLC (SBMRY) said Thursday its third-quarter financial performance was in line with its expectations, despite a 1% decline in comparable sales over the period.

The London-based company - which counts Miller Lite, Peroni and Pilsner Urquell among its brands - said that lager volumes grew 1% in the three months to Dec. 31. Organic lager volumes - which strip out the effect of acquisitions - dropped 1%.

"Consumer demand has been affected by the current global economic slowdown, and has continued to weaken in many of the group's markets," the company said in a statement.

"The financial performance of the group in the quarter, supported by firm pricing and cost efficiencies, has been in line with our expectations, notwithstanding the relative strength of the U.S. dollar against the group's major currencies."

SABMiller is the world's second-largest brewer by volume, since losing the number-one spot to Anheuser-Busch Inbev NV (ABI.BT) of Belgium, following InBev's $52 billion acquisition of Anheuser-Busch.

SABMiller said in November it was scaling back investment in the face of continued cost pressures and slowing demand for beer worldwide.

Demand has been hardest hit in Europe, where organic lager volume declined 1% "as the region experienced the impacts of the global financial crisis on consumer disposable income."

SABMiller shares closed Wednesday at 1060 pence, giving the company a market capitalization of GBP15.9 billion.

Company Web site: www.sabmiller.com

-By Michael Carolan, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9278; [e-mail]

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