USA: Anheuser-Busch Announces Record Sales and Earnings For The Third Quarter and Nine Months of 2000
Driven by accelerated growth in revenue per barrel and continued strong unit volume growth in domestic beer operations, Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. (NYSE:BUD) achieved record sales and earnings for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2000, it was announced today by August A. Busch III, Chairman of the Board and President. Earnings per share for the third quarter and nine months increased 14.3 percent and 15.0 percent, respectively, compared to last year. "This is the eighth consecutive quarter of solid double-digit earnings per share growth for the company," said Mr. Busch. "The leading brand portfolio in the industry along with our marketing, sales and distribution strengths allow us to capitalize on the significantly improved domestic industry fundamentals." Domestic revenue per barrel grew over 3 percent in the third quarter 2000 and is up 2.5 percent for the nine months, compared to the same periods last year. Strong revenue per barrel growth in the third quarter reflects the improved industry fundamentals and the company's strategy to focus on beer profit margin growth. "Domestic beer sales-to-wholesalers increased 2.7 percent for the third quarter and 3.1 percent for the nine months of 2000," Mr. Busch said. Domestic sales-to-retailers volume was up 1.7 percent for the third quarter and 3.1 percent for the nine months of 2000, compared to the same periods last year. As previously communicated, third quarter 2000 sales-to-retailer results were negatively impacted by the timing of the 4th of July holiday which shifted volume from July to June. Normalized for this timing impact, third quarter sales-to-retailer volume increased 2.7 percent vs. the third quarter last year. The company's reported beer volume is summarized in the following table:
October 26, 2000