SABMiller Plc (SAB), the world’s second-biggest brewer, reported growth in third-quarter beer volume that missed analysts’ estimates on declines in Europe and weaker-than-anticipated sales in Africa.
Beer volume rose 1 percent on a so-called organic basis in the three months through December, the company said in a statement Tuesday. That missed the 2 percent median estimate of 12 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.
“Beer volumes were a little softer than we expected in Europe, Africa and South Africa,” Mike Gibbs, an analyst at JPMorgan Cazenove in London wrote in a note, though revenue growth was “solid across all regions” excluding Europe.
SABMiller has more exposure than competitors to developing markets, where economies and demand for beer are growing at a faster pace than in Western Europe and the U.S. The company’s first-half profit beat estimates on growth in regions including Latin America and Africa, offsetting declines in Europe, and it said in November that emerging markets would continue to drive improvements, even as other consumer-goods companies report a slowdown in sales in regions from India to China.
“Growth in the third quarter was driven by our emerging market businesses,” Chief Executive Officer Alan Clark said in the statement. “This was in spite of continued weakness in consumer sentiment, which particularly impacted our European and North American businesses.”
Beer volume in Africa rose 6 percent, less than a 9 percent anticipated improvement, and South African lager sales slid 2 percent amid a “weaker economic and consumer environment.” Political unrest in Mozambique and “soft economic conditions” in Uganda and Zimbabwe offset improvements in Tanzania, Zambia and Nigeria, SABMiller said.
