The recovery of the U.S. market helped Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Sponsored ADR (BUD.US) achieve a Q4 profit increase of 10.1%, exceeding expectations.

The world's largest beer manufacturer Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Sponsored ADR (BUD.US) announced on Wednesday that, benefiting from increased marketing efforts to drive growth in its core brands, and signs of recovery in the key US market, the company's fourth-quarter performance exceeded market expectations. The financial report shows that Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Sponsored ADR's organic EBITDA in the fourth quarter increased by 10.1% year-on-year, higher than the analyst's average expectation of 7.95%. Its full-year growth of 8.2% also exceeded market expectations and the company's own guidance range. In the US market, thanks to strong sales performance of the Michelob Ultra and Busch Light brands, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Sponsored ADR's market share increased slightly, with revenue growth of 0.8%. The company's non-alcoholic beer Michelob Ultra Zero, launched in January this year, has also received a good market response. Although marketing expenses increased, effective hedging was achieved through cost optimization. However, due to continued weak consumer demand in the Chinese and Argentine markets, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Sponsored ADR's sales volume in the fourth quarter decreased by 1.9%, exceeding analyst expectations, with a full-year decrease of 1.4%. In Argentina, demand was suppressed by high inflation, leading to around a 15% decline in sales. By product division, the main reason for the decline in sales was the decrease in demand for the group's beer products, rather than the performance of non-beer brands. The company stated that excluding these two markets, its global shipments are actually showing a growth trend. In recent times, this well-known beer brand manufacturer has been dealing with the challenges brought about by slowing consumer spending in the US and Asian markets. Consumers are reducing their spending on bars or switching to cheaper beer products, putting pressure on the company's performance. As a result, the company is aggressively promoting global beer sponsorships such as Corona Cero for the Olympics. The performance announcement of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Sponsored ADR comes shortly after impressive earnings reports from its competitor Heineken (HEINY.US). Earlier this month, the world's second-largest beer manufacturer exceeded expectations in annual profit, revenue, and sales, and predicted strong growth for this year, leading to its largest single-day stock price increase since 1989. Looking ahead, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Sponsored ADR forecasts that its organic EBITDA growth rate will be maintained between 4% and 8% by 2025. As of Tuesday's closing, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Sponsored ADR's stock price has declined by about 10% since the beginning of the year.