Profit drop and forecast adjustment for AB InBev

AB InBev‘s third quarter’s normalized EBITDA dropped 2 % to 4.4 billion dollars (4 billion euro), mainly because of weak Brazilian results. The company has immediately moved to change its full-year forecast downward.

Lower volume

The beer brewer’s third quarter turnover reached 11.1 billion dollars (10 billion euro), up 2.8 % compared to the year before but still lower than analysts’ expectations. Volumes sold also dropped 0.9 % to 121 million hectoliters, something the company attributes to a very weak Brazilian quarter where beer volumes dropped 4.1 % for the quarter. The country is in a huge economic slump, which translates into lower incomes for the average consumer.

The weaker results have also forced AB InBev to adjust its full-year forecast downward: previously, it believed it could achieve a volume growth that outpaced the inflation, but now it remains to keep level with inflation.

The third quarter is also the final quarter without SABMiller’s revenue as the acquisition was finalized on 10 October.