(ABM FN) AB InBev has seen volumes under pressure in the last three months of 2023, while profitability increased and turnover reached its highest level ever. This was evident from the figures that the brewer presented on Thursday morning.
Turnover increased by 6.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 and by 7.8 percent over the full financial year. Analysts had expected an increase of 6.1 percent for the fourth quarter.
Total volumes decreased by 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter. A decline of 1.7 percent was recorded in 2023 as a whole.
According to an analyst consensus compiled by the brewer itself, a volume decline of 2.0 percent was expected in the fourth quarter of 2023.
In the US, quarterly sales fell 17.3 percent and retail sales fell 12.1 percent, mainly due to Bud Light’s volume decline.
Revenues per hectoliter in the US fell by 1.4 percent. EBITDA shrank by 34.2 percent.
Thanks to better efficiency, AB InBev’s normalized EBITDA rose 6.2 percent to $4.88 billion in the fourth quarter. In 2023 as a whole there was a plus of 7.0 percent to almost 20 billion dollars. The consensus was for an increase in the fourth quarter of 5.3 percent.
Underlying profit was $1.66 billion in the final months of 2023, compared to $1.74 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022. In 2023, AB InBev reached $6.16 billion, compared to $6.09 billion in 2022.
Underlying EPS was $0.82 in the fourth quarter, down from $0.86 a year earlier. This profit amounted to $3.05 in all of 2023. That is 2 cents more than in 2022 and 6 cents more than analysts had expected.
AB InBev will increase the dividend from 0.75 to 0.82 euros, the brewer announced on Thursday.
Of the share buyback program announced on October 31, 2023, $870 million had been realized by February 23.
Outlook
AB InBev expects an increase in EBITDA for 2024 in line with its own medium-term outlook, namely between 4 and 8 percent.
For 2024, the analysts expect another volume increase, but a limited one, of only 1.2 percent. The analysts also expect a turnover growth of 7.1 percent and an 8.7 percent higher EBITDA this year.
The brewer expects investments to be between $4.0 and $4.5 billion in 2024.
At December 31, 2023, net debt was $67.6 billion, down from $69.7 billion at December 31, 2022. This meant a debt ratio of 3.38 at the end of 2023.
“Strong free cash flow generation has enabled us to continue our deleveraging, propose a higher dividend for our shareholders and execute a billion dollar share buyback plan,” CEO Michel Doukeris said in a statement on Thursday.
Source: ABM Financial News ABM Financial News is a supplier of stock market news, video and data, both for real-time trading platforms and dealing rooms as well as for online and offline media publications. The information in this article is not intended as professional investment advice or as a recommendation to make certain investments.
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2024-02-29 06:02:00
#volumes #turnover #profit #InBev
