Anheuser-Busch InBev Q1 Profit Down - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Belgian brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev, known as AB InBev (BUD, AHBIF.PK) said that its first-quarter of 2014 profit attributable to equity holders of the company dropped to $1.372 billion from the previous year's $2.051 billion, with earnings per share declining to $0.84 from $1.28 in the same quarter last year.

Normalized profit attributable to equity holders of the company declined to $1.416 billion from $1.853 billion in the year ago quarter, driven primarily by a difficult the first-quarter of 2013 comparable in net finance costs. Normalized earnings per share slipped to $0.87 from $1.16 in the previous year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $1.05 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenue for the quarter increased to $10.605 billion from last year's $9.169 billion. Wall Street expected revenues of $10.52 billion.

On an organic growth basis, revenue grew by 8.9% in the quarter. This result was due to growth in total volumes of 4.4%, with revenue per hl also growing by 4.4%, driven by our revenue management and premiumization initiatives. On a constant geographic basis, revenue per hl grew by 5.7%.

Looking ahead for fiscal 2014, the company expects a low to mid teens percentage increase in its sales and marketing investments as it continues to drive top-line performance by supporting its brands.

For fiscal 2014, the company expects revenue per hl to grow organically in line with inflation, on a constant geographic basis, as a result of continued improvement in mix and revenue management initiatives.