Anheuser-Busch InBev said its sales to retailers fell 3.4% in the third quarter. That’s twice the decline of the beer industry as a whole. It attributed the drop to “disruptions from major hurricanes in Florida and Texas.”
In terms of sales to wholesalers, revenue fell 5.6%. A year earlier, revenue actually grew 0.9%.
ABI said Budweiser’s “American Summer” campaign and the return of “America” packaging “contributed to upward trends in brand health and led to Budweiser becoming the leading brand in ad awareness and consideration growth in 3Q17.”
But ad awareness doesn’t automatically translate into improved sales, and ABI said it estimated an overall decline in total market share of 80 basis points in the third quarter. “Our market share remains under pressure while we continue to balance the share and profitability equation. However, we are encouraged by the share growth of our Above Premium brands, as well as the improved responses to the new content in our marketing campaigns.
“Our premiumization strategy and tight cost management enabled the continued expansion of our gross profit margin, which grew by 94 bps to 62.0%, as well as the delivery of EBITDA margin expansion of 211 bps to 42.2% in the quarter, the highest level in thirteen quarters. However, the hurricanes accounted for an estimated 2 pp reduction to EBITDA growth in the quarter, resulting in an EBITDA decline of 0.7% versus 3Q16. In 9M17, EBITDA grew by 0.7% with EBITDA margin expansion of 145 bps to 41.6%.”
Of course, as a global corporation, the fact ABI continues to see revenue and share declines in the U.S. is almost beside the point. Globally, revenue grew 3.6%, and revenue per hectoliter grew 5%, thanks to higher prices.