SABMiller Plc (SAB.L), one of the world's largest brewers, Tuesday, in an interim management statement for the third quarter ended December 31, said financial performance for the quarter was in line with its expectations, while lager volumes, on an organic basis, remained flat with last year. In a trading update for the three-month period, the maker of Castle, Snow, and Pilsner Urquell beers, noted that for the first nine months were 1% below last year. However, soft drinks volumes for the third quarter increased 2% on an organic basis. According to the company, the calculation of organic growth rates excludes the effects of acquisitions and disposals. SABMiller said it experienced varied consumer demand across its markets during the period, with some showing tentative signs of recovery, while in some other markets, demand remained subdued.
Region-wise, lager volumes in Latin America increased by 4% during the quarter and Colombia reported 6% growth, helped by good weather, an increase in consumer disposable income and strong operational execution. SABMiller added that the quarter also benefited from a soft October in the year earlier, which was impacted by a price increase.
The company said lager volumes in Peru improved 1%, notwithstanding growth of 14% in the prior-year quarter, with strong sales execution driving further market share gains. According to SABMiller, good growth continued in Ecuador and lager volumes increased 9%. Soft drinks volumes also rose 9% in the region on an organic basis, helped by a strong sales performance in Central America. In Europe, the company reported 2% decline in third-quarter lager volumes on an organic basis. Organic volumes in Russia grew 34%, while volumes declined 5% in Poland. In Romania, lager volumes were down 18% from the previous year. Further, Czech Republic reported a decrease of 5% in domestic volumes.
In Africa, lager volumes grew 7% on an organic basis and soft drink volumes also performed well, with a 7% improvement on organic basis. In Zambia, lager volumes increased 17%, benefited by an excise reduction in March 2009. In Uganda, volume growth was strong and lager volumes improved 11% in Mozambique. SABMiller noted that Angola recorded 17% improvement in volume, while lager volumes in Botswana dropped 29%. Volumes in Tanzania also declined 8%, hurt by unseasonal weather and a soft economy. In Asia, the company experienced an improvement of 5% in lager volumes on an organic basis, while organic volume growth in China slowed to 6% due to heavy snow and wet weather, which hampered demand. In India, volumes dropped 7% following excise increases and a continuation of regulatory impediments, SABMiller noted.
In South Africa, the softening of consumer demand resulted in a decline of 4% in lager volumes during the quarter. Also, soft drinks volumes decreased 5%, hurt by a weak economy and unseasonal cold weather at the beginning of the third quarter. For the third quarter, joint-venture MillerCoors' domestic sales to retailers declined 3.6% from the prior year. Premium light brand volumes fell mid single-digits due to a decline in Miller Lite and to a lesser extent in Coors Light. In addition, the craft and import portfolio declined slightly, though Blue Moon and Peroni Nastro Azzurro delivered high single and mid single-digit growth, respectively, the company noted. The below premium portfolio was also down slightly while Keystone Light achieved high single-digit growth during the quarter and domestic sales to wholesalers declined 4.2% from the year-ago period.
In November, SABMiller had reported a decline in profit for the first half, affected by lower revenues and the weakness of major operating currencies against the US dollar. SABMiller's profit before tax for the half year declined to US$1.5 billion from US$2.02 billion in the previous year. Profit attributable to equity shareholders was US$973 million or 62.6 cents per share, compared to a profit of US$1.42 billion or 94.3 cents per share in the prior year. Revenues for the period dropped 21% to US$8.85 billion from US$11.17 billion in the same period last year.
SAB.L is currently trading at 1,764 pence, down 56 pence or 3.08%, on a volume of 1.26 million shares. In the past 52 weeks, the shares have been trading in a range of 906 pence-1,858 pence on the LSE.
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