Anheuser-Busch InBev Earnings: What to Watch

By Jennifer Maloney 

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, the world's largest brewer, is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings before European stock markets open Thursday. Here's what you need to know:

EARNINGS FORECAST: Earnings of $1.09 a share is the consensus of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, compared with $1.56 a year earlier.

REVENUE FORECAST: Analysts expect revenue of $13.85 billion, compared with $10.72 billion a year earlier. The latest quarter will be the first to include results from SABMiller PLC.

TAKEOVER: Investors will be listening for an update on AB InBev's ingestion of rival SABMiller -- a $100-billion-plus transaction that closed Oct. 8. The deal is a massive bet that AB InBev can tap new growth in Africa and other emerging markets.

BRAZIL: AB InBev in October cut its revenue forecast for the year amid slumping sales in recession-wracked Brazil, where operating profit sank 33%, with about half of the decline tied to hedging losses after the local currency weakened. Analysts are bracing for another difficult quarter in the market, and will be looking for signs that the worst has passed.

VOLUME: AB InBev's U.S. volumes have fallen each year from 2010 to 2015. The company has said it must stem those declines to meet its market-share goals. Analysts will be watching for a turnaround in the cheaper beer category, after a series of marketing and price-promotion moves intended to shore up declines in economy brands such as Busch.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 01, 2017 08:14 ET (13:14 GMT)

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