Brazilian brewer Ambev has ended the first quarter of 2017 with net revenue of BRL 11.2 billion, down 2.8% on the same period in 2016.
Inflation led to higher prices for its products during the period (+29.1% year-on-year), which in turn impacted net profit, which fell 20.1% to BRL 2.31 billion.
The company did post growth, however, across all its operations: Brazil (+0.6%), Latin America South (+27.4%), Central America and the Caribbean (+5.5%) and Canada (+2.3%).
In Brazil, volumes grew by 2.6% to 41.3 million hectolitres.
In terms of beer alone, sales grew 3.4% in volume in Brazil, both in mainstream and premium brands. In the premium segment, sales in volume rose by double digits, led by Budweiser, with an annual growth of more than 30%.
For 2017, Ambev expects the cost of product sold per hectolitre to grow by double digits in the first half and to remain stable or to go up by single digits in the second half of the year.
Regarding international operations, the company sees a positive volumes trend in southern Latin America, but remains cautious with the macroeconomic environment in Argentina.
For Central America and the Caribbean, Ambev says it will seek to raise revenue and expand the EBITDA margin. In Canada, the focus will be on balancing volumes and price to increase profitability.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
