AB InBev bolstered by three global brands

Jason Warner, business unit president, AB InBev North Europe, stated that AB InBev’s 2016 results were “driven by the strong performance” of its three global brands – Stella Artois, Budweiser and Corona.

He added that 2016 had been “a good year” and that Stella Artois had retained its spot as “the number one beer brand in the country, with sales far exceeding any other beer brand, following another successful year of partnership with Wimbledon and a premium new Christmas campaign.”

“Budweiser was the biggest contributor to sales growth in the beer category at +15.6% year-on-year following a strong year of disruptive marketing campaigns, including ‘Free Bud for Wales’ and its ‘Get Home Safe’ Christmas tie-up with Uber.”

He drew particular attention to Corona, highlighting its “staggering sales growth of +33.3%, turning it into the biggest World Beer Brand in the UK for 2016.”

AB InBev’s revenue grew 2.4% in 2016, with revenue per hl growth of 4.5%. Total volume sales, however, declined by 2.0% in the same period, with own beer volumes down 1.4% and non-beer volumes down 6.2%.

An extract from the report “Constellation Brands Inc in Alcoholic Drinks (Jan 2017)

Combined revenues of its three global brands, Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona grew by 6.5% in 2016.

Anna Ward, alcoholic drinks analyst at Euromonitor International commented “AB InBev’s 2016 performance has been dragged down by weakening beer volumes in its core markets, notably China and Brazil, while Mexico continues to present a rare bright spot.”

Heineken’s recent acquisition of Kirin’s Brazilian beer business, according to Ward, “has strengthened its presence in the country and reduced the gap between it and market leader AB InBev.”

“AB InBev’s relatively poor annual results highlight the timeliness of the SABMiller acquisition, which broadens the company’s geographic spread and provides much needed access to the growth markets of Sub-Saharan Africa.”