Sinking sales “increased significantly toward the end of the quarter”, the company said in its financial results posted on 7 May. Total volumes fell by 9.3%. However, this figure would have only been 3.6% if its business in China, where lockdowns had been imposed from January, isn’t factored in.

Global revenue also declined by 5.8%. The company expects the impact of coronavirus lockdowns will be “materially worse” later in the year.

Volumes fell 32% in April, when AB InBev was forced to close its brewing facility in Mexico to adhere to the country’s own social distancing measures. Adjusted earnings fell 14%, slightly below analyst’s expectations.

The company was also affected by a number of countries that had banned the sale and production of alcohol, in markets such as Mexico, South Africa and Peru, where “brewery operations have been severely restricted.”

AB InBev said it will “continue to work with governments in this fast-changing environment and are doing our part in the fight against COVID-19. We look forward to resuming our operations when appropriate.”

The combined revenues of Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona, declined by 11.0% globally and by 17.5% outside of their respective home markets.

AB InBev is the latest brewer to report a sharp decline in beer sales at the start of the year. Molson Coors’ beer sales fell close to 9% in the first three months of the year

Danish brewer Carlsberg’s sales fell by 7.4% in the first quarter of 2020, but CEO Cees t’Hart warned the worst is yet to come.

百威英博4月出货量下跌32%

全球最大的啤酒生产商百威英博在4月份减少了32%的出货量，原因是酒吧和餐厅的大范围停业切断了其主要的销售途径。

该公司在5月7日发布的财务报告中称，“到季度末销售显著下滑”,总销量下降了9.3%。但如果不考虑其在中国的业务(从1月份开始实行禁售)，这一数字将仅为3.6%。

全球收入也下降了5.8%。该公司预计，今年晚些时候，新冠病毒封锁的影响将出现“实性质恶化”。

4月，百威英博被迫关闭其位于墨西哥的酿酒厂，以遵守该国的社会疏远措施，致使总销量下降了32%，调整后收益下降了14%，略低于分析师的预期。

该公司还受到许多禁止销售和生产酒精饮料的国家的影响，例如墨西哥、南非和秘鲁，这些国家“酿酒业受到严格限制”。

百威英博表示：“在这一瞬息万变的环境中，我们将继续与政府合作，并在与新冠病毒的斗争中尽我们的一份力量。我们期盼在适当的时候恢复正常运营。”

百威、时代和科罗纳三大啤酒巨头的总收入在全球范围内下降了11.0%，在各自的国内市场之外下降了17.5%。

百威英博是最新一家报告其啤酒销售在今年年初急剧下降的啤酒巨头。此外，摩森康胜的啤酒销售收入在今年前三个月也下降了近9%。

丹麦啤酒巨头嘉士伯的销售收入在2020年第一季度下降了7.4%，但首席执行官Cees t’Hart警告说，“最糟糕的时刻还没有到来”。

徐菲远 译自 The Drinks Business