Brewing giant AB InBev faced a challenging day on the stock market on Thursday. The world's largest brewery suffered a temporary loss of over 10% following a further decline in its volumes for the second quarter.
However, CEO Michel Doukeris stressed the company’s strong results in other areas and expressed confidence in long-term volume growth.
“We always say we manage the business, not the stock price," Doukeris said.
Declining volumes for nine consecutive quarters
"The long-term share price is, of course, always a result of the business operations, which have been robust this quarter and in the first half,” he explained, highlighting revenue, EBITDA, cash flow, and earnings per share as indicators. “By focusing on operations we control, the results are very solid,” he noted.
However, the Belgian-Brazilian brewer, based in Leuven, has seen declining volumes for nine consecutive quarters.
Doukeris emphasised the global nature of the company’s operations. “We operate in over fifty countries and sell beer in more than a hundred worldwide," the AB InBev CEO said. "This global footprint allows us to leverage the market and our position.
"We operate in a very dynamic environment, which occasionally exposes us to specific challenges in each country,” he added, pointing to the declining Chinese market.
Doukeris is cautious about drawing conclusions from a single quarter. From a long-term perspective, from 2019 to now, the situation has been different, he noted.
Long-term prospects remain positive, CEO says
There was volume growth and record volume in 2022, a year when consumers reopened their wallets after the Covid-19 crisis. In 2024, turnover reached record levels and, for 15 consecutive quarters, AB InBev has met its EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes,deprectation and amortisation] forecasts.
“With these results, we remain confident in the beer sector,” Doukeris insisted. Projections indicate volume growth for the coming years, “and we are confident in our growth strategy. Yes, under normal circumstances, the long-term prospects for the sector remain positive."
He also mentioned the results in Europe, the most developed beer market. “We outperformed this sector in most markets and did good business in Europe this quarter,” the AB inBev CEO pointed out.
Finally, he highlighted a 33% increase in global sales of non-alcoholic beers. “We started focusing more on this segment two years ago. We are gaining market share globally,” he said.
