Anheuser-Busch InBev reports global revenue fell 17.7% in the second quarter, while net profit plunged to $452 million, or 18 cents a share, from $2.7 billion, or $1.25 a share, a year earlier.
“Our performance in the second quarter was materially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as expected. As the quarter progressed, however, we saw considerable improvement. April volumes declined by 32.4%, May volumes declined by 21.4% and June volumes grew by 0.7%, demonstrating the resilience of the global beer category,” the company said.
U.S. Sales
In the U.S. sales to retailers were “flatish,” the company said. Thanks to a 0.2% increase in revenue per hl, U.S. revenue declined 5.9%, less that the overall 6.1% decline in sales to wholesalers.
“Our above core portfolio once again led the way and delivered an estimated market share gain of 90 bps in 2Q20,| ABI said. “This was led by the successful launch of Bud Light Seltzer earlier this year, which remains the top innovation in the category by volume in 2020. Michelob Ultra continued its strong momentum as a top share gainer in the category, finding new ways to connect with consumers digitally to support an active lifestyle.
In the mainstream segment, our core, core light and value brands delivered an estimated loss of 90 bps of market share in the U.S. This improvement versus recent trends is largely due to the uplift of beer sales in the off-premise channel, which disproportionately benefits established brands and larger packs. Within the mainstream segment, we estimate our portfolio lost approximately 15 bps of market share.
Global Footprint an Asset
Reflecting upon the global pandemic, A-B InBev said its “global footprint is truly an asset as we leverage learnings from across out business to position our markets for a strong and swift recovery.
“As the pandemic evolved throughout the second quarter, we reclassified some of our markets between clusters. For example, many European countries became “Recovering Markets” as restrictions began to ease in May and June, inspiring our colleagues in Europe to replicate best practices from our teams in China and South Korea to support our customers in the on-premise channel for a successful re-opening. ‘Welcome Kits’ were provided with personal protective equipment, such as branded masks and hand sanitizer produced with our surplus alcohol, and manuals with guidelines to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. In addition, we offered digital solutions to our customers that supported increased efficiency while reassuring consumers in the new environment.