AB-InBev’s ambitious 2020 goal

What’s it about 2020? That year AB-InBev hopes to generate revenue of USD 100 billion. Readers will remember Coca-Cola’s ambitious Vision 2020, unveiled in 2009, which called for the revenue generated by the company and its bottlers to double to roughly USD 200 billion by 2020. For several years, Coke’s own revenue has declined and it’s more than doubtful that Coke will ever achieve this target.

In the case of AB-InBev, the goal is part of a new performance-based incentive plan, called “Dream Incentive Plan”, which the brewer has not publicized yet. It only got a mention in AB-InBev’s 2015 annual report filed last month.

As says the Wall Street Journal, the Belgian company in December 2015 issued a special stock option grant to be awarded to 65 senior managers if they succeed in boosting AB-InBev’s and SABMiller’s combined revenue more than 50 percent by 2020.

AB-InBev’s revenue for the 2015 fiscal year was USD 43.6 billion, while SABMiller’s was USD 22.1 billion. On the back of an envelope this adds up to USD 65.7 billion, excluding divestitures.

If the company achieves the growth target, the performance plan could conservatively yield more than USD 350 million.

Incidentally, this plan excludes the brewer’s executive management board, the 16 top bosses headed by CEO Carlos Brito. As The UK’s Sunday Times has the story, an incentive plan for Mr Brito and the other members of the board will be outlined once the SABMiller transaction is home and dry. It will likely be linked to paying down debt.

Looks like AB-InBev will have to stretch itself to reach this grand target, or the “2020 Dream Incentive Plan” will remain, well, a dream.