Budweiser APAC profit soars to $518m in H1

This is up from $196m in 2020.

Budweiser Brewing Company APAC Limited reported its net profit rose to $518m in the first half (H1) the year, from $196m in the same period in 2020.

Revenue during the period grew 26% to $3.47b from $2.57b, largely due to the strong growth recorded in China. In particular, the Premium and Super Premium segments in China saw a growth of 9.7% revenue per hectolitre (hl).

“In the first half of 2021, we maintained the healthy momentum from the first quarter with double-digit growth in volume, revenue, and EBITDA,” Jan Craps, CEO and co-chair, said.

“Strong revenue per hl growth across our key markets was attributed to our strategic focus on premiumization, digital transformation and expansion, despite remaining COVID restrictions.”

Overall, the company’s revenue per hl grew across all markets, rising 6.4%. This was linked to the continued momentum in the Premium and Super Premium segments.

“We accelerated the growth of our Premium and Super Premium portfolio in all our key markets while further diversifying and expanding our channel and geographic reach through our route-to-market strategy,” Craps also said.

In APAC West, Budweiser’s H1 revenue grew by 33.5%, or 42.8% on a reported basis, with volume growth of 21.7% and a revenue per hl increase of 9.7%, or 17.3% on a reported basis.

Meanwhile, in the APAC East region, revenue slightly declined by 0.9%, or increased by 6.8% on a reported basis, with revenue per hl growth of 1.6% from favourable mix mainly offsetting volume decline of 2.4% due to ongoing COVID restrictions.