The UK division of alcohol manufacturer Ab InBev saw losses deepen over the last financial year, despite raising its prices.
Ab InBev UK, which has a portfolio that includes Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois, reported a pre-tax loss of £72.1m in 2023, despite its sales increasing from £1.59bn to £1.66bn.
Its disappointing performance follows a recent pattern of loss-making for the brewer’s London arm, which reported a loss of £89.5m in 2022 and £6.4m in 2021, having last experienced a profit in 2020, of £40.9m.
AB InBev said the past year had “posed significant challenges for our business” pointing to “persistent” rising inflation, supply chain disruptions and falling household incomes.
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A statement from its board said: “Despite some easing of inflation later in the year, economic uncertainty remained, necessitating agile supply chain management and strategic pricing adjustments.
“As a result of this challenging environment, the beer industry witnessed a downturn compared to 2022, particularly in the off-trade sector, driven by increased consumer prices and government beer duty hikes from August.”
It added that despite its off-trade grocery sector remaining “fairly stable”, it too had “continue to lag behind pre-pandemic levels”.
The UK’s arms recent results follow in the wake of the global company experiencing a more positive first quarter in May, with an underlying profit of £1.2bn ($1.509bn), up from £1.05bn ($1.31bn) in the same period last year.
Speaking at the time, CEO Michel Doukeris praised the performance, citing pricing actions, continued premiumisation and the “strength of the beer category”.
