Makers of Corona beer report £132 million loss after coronavirus outbreak

Follow our LIVE updates on the coronavirus update here
The maker of Corona beer has told of a £132 million loss amid coronavirus outbreak
AFP via Getty Images
Bonnie Christian2 March 2020

The brewer behind Corona beer has warned of the steepest decline in quarterly profit for at least a decade after the coronavirus outbreak cost it $170 million (£132 million) in lost profit.

Anheuser-Busch InBev​ is the world’s biggest brewing giant and is also behind the Budweiser and Stella Artois brands.

It forecast that its first quarter earnings will tumble by about 10 per cent after the virus saw demand slump in China.

The outbreak also coincided with the Chinese New Year, sending the company’s shares 8 per cent lower.

AB InBev estimates the earnings hit across China after seeing around $285 million (£221 million) of lost sales in the first two months of 2020 alone due to Covid-19.

The Belgium-based group said: “The impact of the Covid-19 virus outbreak on our business continues to evolve.

“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.”

Last month USA Today reported Google searches in the US for "Corona beer virus" and "beer virus" spiked amid other searches related to "coronavirus symptoms", which saw a 1,050 per cent increase.

AB InBev’s warning comes amid a swathe of company alerts over the impact of coronavirus on demand and supply, with Microsoft also adding to the growing list.

The US tech giant revealed overnight it will miss revenue guidance for its Windows and Surfaces businesses and blamed uncertainty over coronavirus and an impact on its supply chain, while a raft of UK firms also revealed the toll taken on Thursday, including banking giant Standard Chartered.

AB InBev also admitted its 2019 performance was “below our expectations” as net profits slumped to 114 million US dollars (£88 million) in the final three months from 456 million US dollars (£353 million) a year earlier.

Listen to today's episode of The Leader podcast:

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in