SABMiller reports rise in beer sales
On 19 January 2012, SABMiller reported a 3 percent rise in beer volumes in the last three months of 2011, as growth in emerging markets helped offset volume declines in North America and Europe.
SABMiller said that beer price rises helped the group to push up its underlying revenue in its October-December third quarter by 7 percent.
However, beer volumes at its newly-acquired Foster’s Australian business dipped 6 percent in the quarter and, although not included in its overall figures, showed the challenge faced by Foster’s new chief Ari Mervis in such a difficult market.
Luckily, SABMiller makes 70 percent of its profits in emerging markets. Hence its exposure to flat western beer markets is lower than for its rivals AB-InBev, Heineken and Carlsberg.
Third-quarter underlying volumes rose 11 percent in Africa, were up 8 percent in Latin America, 7 percent ahead in Asia Pacific and 2 percent firmer in South Africa.
Europe remained weak with a quarterly 2 percent fall and in the United States, where it operates through its MillerCoors joint venture, sales to retailers dropped 3.3 percent, it was reported.
