Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Carlos Brito said its Budweiser brand will triumph over Heineken and Guinness in Africa’s biggest beer markets.
Brito was speaking to analysts on Thursday, following AB InBev’s second quarter and half-year 2017 results.
He said that the big beer merger of last year which combined the markets and brands formerly owned by SABMiller with its own brands opened up new markets in Africa for its global brands – Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona.
London-based Diageo Plc, said on Thursday that it recorded £12.05bn ($15.83bn) in net sales for the full-year ended June 30, up 14.87% from the previous year’s £10.49bn.
“We have delivered consistent strong performance improvement across all regions and I am pleased with progress in our focus areas,” said Ivan Menezes, group CEO.
The maker of Johnnie Walker whisky and Smirnoff vodka attributes its good fortune to productivity gains, favourable currency tailwinds and broad-based revenue growth across its major markets.
Anheuser-Busch InBev hailed a strong first-half to 2017 as revenue grew 5% to $14bn in the three months to the end of June and 4.4% to $27bn in half-year.
The world’s largest brewer by sales credits its strong performance to a combination of benefits reaped from its merger with SABMiller last year and revenue management initiatives as well as premiumization. The company said it saved $335m from synergies in Q2 alone.
AB InBev said total beer volume grew 1%, with its own beer volumes up 2.1%, driven by growth in South Africa, Mexico and Australia despite continued struggles in the U.S. and Brazil, two of its largest markets.
