AB InBev: consumers flock to premium beers

After two years of Covid restrictions, people are prepared to pay for a cool beer. Higher prices cannot spoil the fun at AB InBev, especially as consumers are increasingly opting for the more expensive brands.

Beer trumps everything else

AB InBev grew strongly last quarter, not so much because people drank more – volume rose ‘only’ by 3.4 % – but mainly because consumers are willing to pay so much more for their beers. Sales rose by 11.3 %, exceeding the 10.4 % that analysts had expected, Bloomberg reports.

CEO Michel Doukeris sees a healthy balance between volume and price, as consumers increasingly opt for the group’s premium brands and as the price increases of recent months have not reduced demand. Only in China did beer sales decline due to ongoing corona restrictions. In Latin America (particularly Brazil, Colombia and Mexico), the Stella brewer even sold considerably more beer.

The operating profit (ebitda) also continued to increase, despite the sharp rise in costs of grain, energy and packaging materials. The operating profit thus rose by 7.2 % to 5.1 billion dollars (5 billion euros). For the rest of the year, the world’s largest brewer maintains its expectation of a 4 to 8 % increase in profit.