... and flat volumes for beer companies too

While it’s too early to call an end to the industry downturn, some of the company’s markets such as China and particularly Columbia have recovered much faster than others, Graham Mackay, CEO of SABMiller, said in an interview in September.

“It seems that in Columbia the worst is over," Mr Mackay said. That would be good news since in Latin America SABMiller achieve 28 percent of their EBITA.

Columbia’s volumes were down 1 percent in the first quarter, it was reported.

In the U.S., where SABMiller operate in a joint venture with Molson Coors, Mr MacKay said price increases would not be dramatic this year but would run roughly in line with inflation. North America is third most important market for the brewer as it contributes 14 percent to their EBITA.

Interestingly, Mr MacKay forecasted that the industry would face further consolidation now that the credit crunch is over.

"A lot of the consolidation has happened, of course, but I don’t think we’re at the end of it yet," he was reported as saying. "There are always bankers knocking on our doors about real or imagined transactions."