Anheuser-Busch Inbev, a Belgian drinks company, has met its quarterly revenue forecasts but has not fully recovered from the backlash experienced last year. The brewer announced on Wednesday that its revenue grew by 2.6% in the first three months of the year, in line with analysts’ expectations. However, sales of beer fell slightly more than anticipated with a decline of 0.6%. Revenue figures were boosted by sales of spirits-based drinks in cans.
Last year, AB InBev sparked controversy when it decided to work with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. The company sent her a personalized Bud Light can to celebrate her transition, leading to backlash from right-wing commentators who accused the brand of pushing a liberal agenda. Left-wing voices criticized the brewer for failing to support Mulvaney. The company’s Europe CEO has indicated that they will “stay in our lane” following backlash to the campaign seeking to promote diversity. Wednesday’s quarterly results showed an 11.1% drop in sales of AB InBev’s own beer brands in North America, which the firm attributed to Bud Light’s performance.
Despite the backlash, it is believed that the effects of the boycott will begin to fade. AB InBev’s CEO Michel Doukeris stated that he was encouraged by the company’s first quarter results and attributed it to the strength of the beer category, diversified global footprint and continued momentum of mega brands such as Corona and Stella Artois. Lacklustre improvements in the Asia-Pacific region and North America were offset by stronger growth in countries such as Mexico, Brazil and South Africa where sales grew by 5%. Normalised EBITDA increased by 5.4% to almost $5 billion (€4.65 billion) and the company expects full-year EBITDA to grow in line with its medium-term outlook of between 4% and 8%.