Anheuser-Busch InBev Backs Guidance Despite 3Q Miss on Lower Volumes -- Update

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 [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 31, 2023 02:35 ET (06:35 GMT)

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