Budweiser APAC slides nearly 6pc as mainland sobers up

Shares of Budweiser Brewing Company APAC (1876) lost nearly 6 percent after its second-quarter results missed estimates due to the fading alcohol consumption demand in mainland China.

The beer giant’s net profit slumped 31 percent year-on-year to US$175 million (HK$1.37 billion) last quarter, far below the estimated US$237 million.

For the first six months of the year, the company's net profit dropped 24.3 percent year-on-year to US$409 million.

Its first-half revenue dipped 5.6 percent to US$3.1 billion from one year ago. Gross profit also shrank 4.9 percent to US$1.6 billion, while gross profit margin only edged down 0.1 percentage points to 51.4 percent.

Budweiser’s beer sales shed 6.1 percent to 43.6 million hectoliters in the first half, with volume falling across all Asian Pacific markets.

Among the four reported regions, China posted the largest fall of 8.2 percent in volume and 10 percent in net revenue for the first half.

Shares of Budweiser APAC declined 5.8 percent to HK$8.26 apiece on Thursday in Hong Kong.

STAFF REPORTER