AB Inbev’s third quarter results exceed pre-pandemic levels

Despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and supply chain bottlenecks in a number of key markets, the multinational drink and brewing company AB InBev reported third quarter revenue growth of 7.9% with respect to the same period in 2020 and a more than 10% increase compared to 2019.

In the first nine months of the year, AB InBev’s total sales volumes grew by 11.9% to 423 million hectolitres and revenues by 17% to $40.1 billion. EBITDA increased by 14.5% to $14.3 billion.

The group is continuing to expand in Europe thanks to the much awaited recovery of the hospitality sector and a determined premiumisation strategy. AB InBev also reported a positive performance in the Italian market with growth of 0.4 percentage points in volume and 0.5 points in value in the first nine months of 2021 thanks to double-digit growth in the superpremium brands Leffe, Corona and Tennent’s Super [Nielsen].

The group has revised up its forecasts for 2021 and is now expecting 10% to 12% growth in EBITDA (previous estimates stood at 8-12%) and an even bigger increase in revenue.