Budweiser and Stella Artois brewer says sales growth driven by higher prices
AB InBev said its sales grew by nearly 8% last year to 59.4 billion US dollars (£47 billion), compared with 2022.
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Your support makes all the difference.The maker of Budweiser and Stella Artois has seen yearly sales grow as it hiked prices, but Bud Light continued to slump in the prolonged fallout of a marketing campaign which sparked a backlash in the US last year.
AB InBev said its sales grew by nearly 8% last year to 59.4 billion US dollars (£47 billion), compared with 2022.
The increase was driven by higher prices, with volumes declining over the same period, meaning people paid more money for fewer items.
The brewer also said that it had benefited from growth of its more premium brands in some international markets such as Mexico and Brazil.
But sales growth was constrained throughout the year due to a poorer performance in the US, AB InBev said.
It follows a backlash among right-wing Americans against the Bud Light brand since spring last year, after transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney promoted the beer on social media.
It led to a boycott of the brand which resulted in falling sales in the region.
AB InBev said a decline in the volume of sales of Bud Light drove a 17% drop in total revenues in the US over 2023.
Aarin Chiekrie, an equity analyst for Hargreaves Lansdown, said the full-year results show that “trouble’s been brewing” for the business.
“In the US, performance remains very underwhelming with revenue down at double-digit rates as the group lost market share,” he said.
“This was primarily driven by declines in Bud Light as the fallout from the controversial and poorly received marketing campaign continues to weigh on consumers’ minds.”
But AB InBev stressed that despite lagging US sales, it “remained true to our purpose and laser-focused on the execution of our strategy”, which includes growing its most popular brands.
Normalised earnings, excluding items like tax and interest, grew by 7% to nearly 20 million US dollars (£15.8 million) for the year.
The company also said it sees beer as a “large, profitable and growing category” and with more opportunities to sell as a premium brand.