Leuven, Belgium-based Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) reported that its total revenue grew 1.5 percent in the first quarter of 2013, with strong revenue per hectoliter growth of 5.8 percent due to the company’s revenue management initiatives and the premiumization of its brand portfolio in key markets. On a constant geographic basis, revenue per hectoliter grew by 6.9 percent, it reports.
However, total volume declined 4.1 percent, with beer volume down 4 percent and non-beer volume declining 4.8 percent, AB InBev reports. Volume performance in the quarter was affected by short-term pressures on consumer disposable income, increased gas prices and poor weather, the company says. Nevertheless, the company’s three global brands — Budweiser, Stella Artois and Beck’s — grew by 4.7 percent with global Budweiser volumes growing by 8.4 percent, driven by good performances in China, Brazil, Russia and the Ukraine, it says.