par Philip Blenkinsop
BRUSSELS, May 6 (Reuters) – Carlos Brito will end his 15 years at the head of the world’s largest brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev in July and will be replaced by Michel Doukeris, the current boss of the North America branch.
The group’s board of directors unanimously elected Michel Doukeris to succeed, from July 1, his Brazilian compatriot Carlos Brito, the architect of AB InBev’s global expansion, the brewer announced on Thursday.
Chairman of the Board Martin Barrington said Michel Doukeris, 48, was best positioned to lead AB Inbev’s next phase of growth with his expertise in brands, consumers and innovation.
This phase could be more focused on strengthening the sales of more than 500 brands than on acquisitions in an already concentrated brewing market.
“This should not be a shock for investors (..) Michel was clearly the preferred candidate internally,” commented Trevor Stirling, analyst at Bernstein.
On the Brussels Stock Exchange, the AB Inbev share climbed more than 4% in the morning.
During Carlos Brito’s tenure, the group bought Anheuser-Busch in 2008 and then five years later, the Mexican Grupo Modelo. In 2016, he spent more than $ 100 billion (83.18 billion euros) for the takeover of SABMiller, then the world’s second-largest brewer.
This takeover allowed the group to develop further in Latin American markets and to enter Africa, but it also brought AB InBev’s net debt to $ 82.7 billion at the end of 2020, i.e. about 4.8 times the EBITDA.
The producer of the brands Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona also announced Thursday results for the first quarter above expectations, despite the closures of places of reception such as restaurants and bars in much of Europe and the implementation of a month-long alcohol ban in South Africa.
Beer sales jumped 64% in Asia-Pacific, a year after the first lockdown in China, an important market for AB InBev.
They also climbed by more than 10% in Latin America, outpacing the sector’s growth in two of its main markets, Brazil and Mexico. In Europe, sales of its own beers remained stable.
EBITDA increased by 14.2% at constant scope and excluding currency effects, to reach 4.27 billion dollars (3.55 billion euros), while the average forecast of a consensus provided by the group gave an increase of 6.6%.
AB Inbev expects its EBITDA to grow 8% to 12% in 2021, with higher revenue growth, driven by increased beer sales, price hikes and changing tastes from consumers to high-end brands. (French version Dagmarah Mackos, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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