AB InBev reports $1.28bn profit in Q4

The maker of Budweiser said it faced a tough year as a lot of U.S. consumers were drinking less. However, the company said it expects to sell more beer this year compared to last year.

“We see no improvement in the operating environment today,” said Chief Financial Officer Felipe Dutra. “For the full year we expect beer volumes to be in positive territory.”

AB InBev’s fourth quarter performance
The company recorded sales of $9.29 billion, down from $9.76 billion in the third quarter, while revenue stood at $36.76 billion.

AB InBev said in a statement on Friday that global demand for beer “remains relatively resilient.” However, it also said that it now wanted to focus only on its “core business.”

AB InBev is the market leader of beer in the United States and Brazil.

AB InBev also said it saved $1.1 billion from merging two companies last year, and also made $9.4 billion from sell offs. The company also added $787 million as working capital, and reduced capital expenditure by $1.5 billion.

“The integration of Anheuser-Busch is essentially complete, with a “much improved balance sheet,” said the company.

AB InBev expects modest growth this year
After Friday’s news, AB InBev’s shares slipped by 4.2 percent in early trading.

Analysts predicted the weakness to be due to the lower-than-expected EBITDA.

“I think they are being appropriately cautious with their outlook,” said Trevor Stirling, an analyst at Bernstein Research.

AB InBev said it expects “modest” volume growth, “in line” with the fourth quarter. “We are working hard to find more synergies beyond 2011,” said Dutra.

Meanwhile, the company’s competitor SABMiller Plc, the world’s second-largest brewer, reported an increase of 11.6 percent in the amount of beer sold in Latin America.

Its net debt reduced to $45.2 billion, while fourth quarter income rose to $1.28 billion up from $29 million in last year.