US drag fails to hinder Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2023 - results data

Final-quarter sales increase 6.2% – beating Q3’s +5% – to US$14.47bn
2023 sales rise 7.8% totalling $59.38bn
The US slides 17.3% in Q4 – -9.5% in full year
Europe up “high-single digits” in 2023, China jumps 12.3%

The +6.2% top-line performance from the three months to the end of December represented an improvement on the showing in the previous quarter, belying the struggles faced in the US. The country’s beer market, described by the group today as being “resilient”, proved challenging for AB InBev, with Q4 sales tumbling by just over 17% due to volume falls for the Bud Light brand.

For the 12 months of 2023, the US came in down for the company by 9.5%, although overall sales topped out at +7.8%.

Looking first at the closing quarter and the flagship Budweiser, Corona, Michelob Ultra and Stella Artois brands delivered a combined 24.6% leap in value sales. On a geographical basis, the weakness in the US was offset in Q4 by Brazil, up 5.8%, Europe, where “continued premiumisation” for the likes of Corona, Leffe and Stella Artois helped sales increase by mid-single digits, and China. The latter continues to bear fruit for AB InBev’s premiumisation strategy led by Budweiser as sales rose 11.2% on -3.1% volumes in the three months.

For the full year, the group claimed the US experienced “sequential improvement” volumes-wise as the 12 months progressed, with the “mainstream” beer portfolio heading in one direction and the “above-core beer megabrands” moving in the other. Of note in the country was a “strong” double-digit increase in AB InBev’s spirits-based RTDs volumes.

There was much reference throughout the results statement to the company’s digital ordering platform, BEES. The retailer-facing service went live in several European markets last year, including Germany and the UK, as well as increasing its footprint in China.

“The roll out and adoption of the BEES platform [in China] continued,” AB InBev said, “with BEES now present in approximately 260 cities and with 70% of our revenue generated through digital channels in December.”

The near-8% sales rise in 2023 places AB InBev ahead of its nearest beer rival in size terms: Heineken’s top-line for the full year was up by a lesser 5.5%. However, both Carlsberg (+9.2%) and Molson Coors Beverage Co (+9.3%) trumped the world’s largest brewer in growth rate terms over the 12 months.

“As we reflect on 2023, while our full potential was constrained, the fundamental strengths of our business drove another year of consistent profitable growth. Beer is a large, profitable and growing category, gaining share of alcohol globally and with significant headroom for premiumisation,” the brewer said. “Looking ahead to 2024, … we are energised about the opportunities ahead to activate the category through our megabrands and platforms.”