Dive Brief:
- Anheuser-Busch InBev reported a net profit of $2.52 billion in the most recent quarter, versus $1.74 billion a year earlier. One-time items related to a drop in financing costs, and a change to Brazilian pensions drove the increase.
- The star of the earnings report was Mexico, where EBITDA leaped 44% to $575 million as AB slashed costs at the recently purchased Grupo Modelo.
- Things looked less bright in the U.S., where volumes fell 2.4% across all of 2013.
Dive Insight:
AB InBev, which accounts for 1 in 5 of every beer consumed on earth, is one heck of a big company. Its operations span the globe. Its brands — like Budweiser and Stella Artois — are legendary.
But it should be apparent to even a casual observer that running a company that big is extraordinarily difficult in an era where nimble is the new normal.
We've written before about the M&A frenzy that often surrounds a company that has entered the "aristocracy" phase of corporate lifecycles. AB InBev is a classic example of such an aristocracy. We'll remain concerned about the company as it tries to navigate its way forward — and we'll remain seriously concerned as long as AB InBev continues to trot out the same old tropes to sell beer in a world that is changing at a breathtaking pace.
