- Sales in three months to end of March increase by 5.8% to US$15.27bn
- Volumes in first quarter inch up 0.8%
AB InBev has booked the strongest lift in quarterly sales since the end of 2023, boding well for the current calendar year.
The near-6% top-line rise from the three months to the end of March pushed the Budweiser and Corona brands owner ahead of brewing rival Heineken, which was also up in Q1 but by 2.8% on the corresponding period last year. Credit was given to Corona as well as to Stella Artois and Michelob Ultra for delivering sales lifts of 16%, 14% and 39%, respectively, “outside of their home markets”.
On a geographical basis, the ‘Asia Pacific’ reporting region produced the only real blot on AB InBev’s copy book, posting a sales decline of 1.3%. While the region was flat in volume terms (-0.4%), South Korea proved the main drag as a result of a “challenging shipment phasing” in the same quarter last year. Subsequently, the country’s volumes were down by low-teens.
China, meanwhile, saw AB InBev “underperforming the industry” with a 1.5% volumes dip and a 3.9% fall in value sales. The group is in the process of investing in “expanding our in-home presence” in the country.
The other four regions were all in growth, led by ‘Middle Americas’ (+9.4%), ‘South America’ (+9.0%) and ‘EMEA’ (+4.5%), although ‘North America’ was essentially flat at +0.9%.
In a subsequent presentation on the quarterly results, the company highlighted how its no-alcohol beer portfolio is “outperforming the industry”; in value sales, according to Nielsen figures, non-alc beer as a category was up 8% in the three-month period, dwarfed by the Corona Cero brand at +46% and by Michelob Ultra Zero at “more than” +100%.
“We are encouraged by our performance in the first quarter and, looking ahead, we are well positioned to activate the category in some of the biggest moments of celebration of the year, including the FIFA World Cup,” the group said in its management commentary. “Our consistent performance and the strength of the beer category reinforce our confidence in our ability to deliver our full-year 2026 outlook.”
Among the brewer’s marketing assets for this summer’s soccer World Cup will be an ad for Stella Artois that was unveiled last month, featuring retired player David Beckham.
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