AB InBev halves dividend to pay for SAB
Carling Black Label sales grew thanks to its award- winning ad campaign, but Castle Lite suffered from out-of-stock issues
Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB Inbev) halved its interim dividend to €0.80 from €1.60 as it battles to whittle down the debt it took on to acquire SAB. The world’s largest brewer said in its September quarter results statement released on Thursday morning: “Following this rebase of 50%, we expect dividends to [grow] … over time in line with the non-cyclical nature of our business. However, growth in the short term is expected to be modest given the importance of deleveraging.” Regarding its South African operations, AB InBev said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) declined by 12% due to “a soft topline performance coupled with a negative mix impact and supply constraints”. Its South African sales “declined by mid single digits, with both volumes and revenue per hectolitre down by low single digits”. While Carling Black Label’s “award-winning campaign #NoExcuse” helped it achieve “high single digit” volume growth, Castle Lite “was disproportionately impac...
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