Anheuser-Busch InBev NV/SA, a Belgian brewing company, recently disclosed a decrease in their fourth-quarter profits from $2.84 billion to $1.89 billion compared to the same period in the previous year. This decrease led to a reduction in earnings per share, slumping from $1.41 to $0.94. Notably, underlying earnings per share also saw a slight reduction from $0.86 to $0.82.
Revenues in the same quarter also fell, coming in at $14.47 billion compared to $14.67 billion in the preceding year. Analyst predictions by Thomson Reuters estimated higher figures, with predictions of earnings of $0.72 per share and revenues reaching $15.5 billion. These estimates typically do not encompass special items.
Organically, revenue for the same period saw an increase of 6.2%, with revenue per hectoliter showing a growth of 9.3%. However, the total quarterly volumes saw a decline of 2.6%, with the company's own beer volumes dropping by 3.6%, while non-beer volumes saw a rise of 3.0%.
The brewing giant's Board has proposed a dividend of 0.82 euros per share for the full financial year of 2023, which is pending approval by shareholders at the Annual General Meeting scheduled for 24 April 2024.
Looking forward to the 2024 fiscal year, Anheuser-Busch InBev expects EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) growth to align with its medium-term outlook suggesting a growth between 4% to 8%.
