Anheuser-Busch InBev will report its second-quarter and half-year results tomorrow (31 July). Here, just-drinks takes a look at the highs and lows for the company in the three months to the end of June.
- A-B InBev found itself in trouble with UK advertising watchdogs in April after they ruled a Budweiser radio ad linked alcohol to sexual prowess. The Advertising Standards Authority said the spot, which featured a man giving a motivational-style speech to a group of men before a night on the town, suggested drinking beer aids in the search for a “potential sexual partner”.
- On April 12, rumours swirled that A-B InBev was poised to buy the biggest brewer in the Dominican Republic. Four days later, the reports were confirmed… sort of. A-B InBev didn’t buy Cerveceria Nacional Dominicana (CND) outright, but instead set up a company that took ownership of A-B InBev’s Dominican Republic unit and bought 83.5% of CND, all for US$1.24bn.
- Chris Burggraeve, A-B InBev’s CMO, stepped down at the end of April. Burggraeve spoke to just-drinks in June last year on the brewer’s moves in China and issues with his company’s wayward marketing budget.
- Q2 was the time for A-B InBev to start getting excited about new product Bud Light Platinum. The numbers were looking good and on 1 May the company announced a production extension.
- Good news for future sales in Brazil after the government ruled in June that beer can be sold in stadiums during the 2014 World Cup. A-B InBev is a long-standing sponsor of the football tournament.
- Q2 ended with a bang as A-B InBev agreed to buy the 50% share in Grupo Modelo it does not already own for US$20.1bn. The brewer said it expected the partnership to amount to annual synergies of “at least US$600m”. But was the deal a combination or a merger?