BELGIUM: Interbrew confirms shortfall in EBITDA consensus

Belgian beer giant Interbrew has confirmed the reports on Friday that it is expecting core profits for the year to come in below consensus forecasts, because of pension costs and foreign exchange discrepancies. In a statement the company said: "Before entering into the radio silence period preceding the publication of the full year 2002 results, (starting January 11th, 2003), Interbrew confirms that, compared to what it understands to be the analysts market consensus, FOREX movements and the previously announced, weaker performance in Russia have a slight impact on the EBITDA forecast for 2002. This impact is offset by lower CAPEX and depreciation which are below what is Interbrew's understanding of analysts market consensus."