The introduction of lower-strength variants of Stella Artois and Beck’s drove double-digit volume growth of both lager brands in the UK, according to third-quarter figures from Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s biggest brewer.
InBev UK reported a 3.7 per cent increase in volumes of its own beers in the third quarter, compared with a 1.9 per cent fall for the first nine months as a whole, as its three flagship brands — Stella, Beck’s and Budweiser — all grew by at least 10 per cent.
Stuart MacFarlane, InBev UK president, described it as “a fantastic result in this challenging environment”, allowing the group to win market share. He cited investment in Stella Artois 4% and Beck’s Vier and promotion of Budweiser as key factors in the strong performance. The UK was one of five key markets where AB InBev won market share in the first nine months, alongside Argentina, Belgium, Brazil and the United States. In the third quarter, total volumes fell by 3.2 per cent, partly because of a 20.4 per cent fall in volumes in Russia, but heavy cost-cutting and firm pricing allowed it to achieve an 11.9 per cent jump in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) to $3.55 billion (£2.14 billion).
The group, created from the acquisition last year of Anheuser-Busch by InBev, said it expected to report similar ebitda growth in the fourth quarter, despite soft demand trends. It said it had reaped $9.4 billion from the disposal of non-core assets, well ahead of its stated target of raising $7 billion.
It promised to continue investing in sales and marketing and in launching new products such as Bud Light Golden Wheat and Select 55 in America. It said it planned to continue promotional investment in China.