Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE:BUD), the owner of Bud Light and Stella Artois, moved over 3% higher on Tuesday morning after price hikes allowed the company to reiterate its full-year guidance.
Revenues lifted by 5% in the third quarter of 2023 to reach more than US$15 billion.
Volumes slumped by 3.4%, with ‘own beer’ brands falling by 4%, echoing yet another round of price hikes from a brewer, with rivals Heineken and Carlsberg having both relied heavily on pricing over the last financial year.
Third-quarter underlying profits lifted from US$1.68 billion in 2022 to US$17.3 billion in 2023, a trading update revealed.
Soft trading in Europe and a turbulent performance in the US, led by the continued boycott of the Bud Light brand following the Dylan Mulvaney advert, was offset by improved sales momentum in areas such as South Africa, Colombia and the Dominican Republic.
Underlying earnings are expected to grow between 4-8% for the full year, with revenues to grow slightly above this rate, the brewer was able to reiterate after the period’s performance.
A share buyback worth US$1 billion was launched on Monday and is set to take place over the next 12 months, the Belgian company added.
AB InBev shares are trading over 7.5% lower than at the start of the year on Tuesday, having opened at around €51.5.