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AB InBev reveals weak start to 2016
Beer giant AB InBev had lower than expected earnings in the first quarter of 2016 as sales in Brazil, its second biggest market, slumped by 10%.
AB InBev’s global beer brands (Photo: AB InBev)
The ongoing political crisis in the South America’s biggest economy will have had an adverse effect on the Budweiser and Corona brewer’s sales, which it warned about in February.
Total volumes declined by 1.7%, driven by the drop in Brazil, but improved performance in Mexico, where there was a 13% growth in sales, helped offset this.
It earned $3.46 billion in core profit in the three months to the end of March, a growth rate of 2.5% on the same period last year, lower than analysts’ predictions.
Top-line growth was also held back by investments in its brands, which it says are weighted more heavily to the first half of this year.
The company repeated its expectation to complete the £75 billion SABMiller takeover in the second half of this year.