Coronavirus: AB InBev reports lost revenue of around $285m to date

27-Feb-2020 - Last updated on 27-Feb-2020 at 14:05 GMT

Pic:getty/naeblys

AB InBev estimates that the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in lost revenue of around $285m over the first two months of 2020.

Lower demand during Chinese New Year has been one of the factors.

“The impact of the COVID-19 virus outbreak on our business continues to evolve,” said the world’s largest brewing company as it released its FY2019 results this morning.

“The outbreak has led to a significant decline in demand in China in both on-premise and in-home channels. Additionally, demand during the Chinese New Year was lower than in previous years as it coincided with the beginning of this outbreak. For the first two months of 2020, we estimate that the outbreak has resulted in lost revenue of approximately $285m and lost EBITDA of approximately $170m in China.”

In FY2019, AB InBev saw revenue grow by 4.3% with revenue per hl growth of 3.1%. Total volumes grew 1.1%. Combined revenues of its three global brands – Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona – grew by 5.2%.

Diageo yesterday said it expects to see a hit to profits of up to $258m and a hit to net sales of up to $419m over fiscal 2020.