AB InBev Regional And Segment Production Volume

AB InBev’s Stella Artois Brewery. Source: Flickr

Anheuser-Busch InBev or AB InBev is a publicly-traded company specializing in beverages, beers in particular.

Its main listing is in Europe, Leuven, Belgium (Euronext: ABI), with secondary listings on Mexico (MEXBOL: ANB) and South Africa (JSE: ANH) stock exchanges.

Besides, AB InBev also has American Depository Receipts on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BUD).

AB InBev is one of the largest beer brewers in the world, with operations spanning 5 regions: North America, Middle Americas, South America, EMEA and Asia Pacific.

This article covers AB InBev’s all beverages volume production, including beer, alcoholic beverages, soft drinks and energy drinks (non-alcoholic).

Additionally, this article also breaks down AB InBev’s volume production into regional figures and by segment.

Ab InBev’s production volume by segment includes its own beers, non-alcoholic drinks, and third-party products.

Other than volume production figures, we also get into AB InBev’s production growth rates on a regional and segmentation basis.

Investors who are interested in AB InBev’s revenue, profitability and margins may visit this page – AB InBev Sales Breakdown, Profitability And Margins By Region.

Let’s start with the following topics!

Worldwide Production Volume By Year

AB InBev’s Worldwide Annual Production Volumes (click image to enlarge)

On a global basis, AB InBev produced a total of 595.1 million hectoliters of beverages in fiscal 2022, up 13 million hectoliters or 2.3% from 2021.

In 2021, AB InBev reported a worldwide production volume of 581.7 million hectoliters compared to only 530.6 million hectoliters of beverages being produced in 2020, the lowest figure that has ever been reported since 2018.

The global production volume produced in fiscal 2022 was a record high in the past 5 years and even exceeded the pre-COVID levels, illustrating that the beverage production volume of AB InBev not only has fully recovered but also thrived in a post-pandemic world.

Worldwide Production Volume By TTM

AB InBev’s Worldwide Production Volumes By TTM (click image to enlarge)

On a TTM basis, AB InBev’s global beverage production volume reached a record high of 596.3 million hectoliters as of Q1 2023.

Compared to the result measured a year ago, AB InBev’s 1Q 2023 global production volume represents a rise of 11 million hectoliters or 1.8% year-over-year.

Again, the 2023 production volume results not only have fully recovered in a post-pandemic period but also even exceeded that reported during the pre-COVID periods.

Production Volumes By Segment

ABI’s production volume by segment (click image to enlarge)

Own beer production volume includes brands that AB InBev owns and licenses.

Third-party products include not only brands that ABI brews as a subcontractor but also products that it sells through its own distribution network.

That said, AB InBev’s own beer volume tops the chart at roughly 500 million hectoliters per year.

In 2022 alone, ABI produced about 518 million hectoliters of its own beer, a rise of 2% or 9 million hectoliters from 2021.

Since 2018, AB InBev’s own beer volume has grown by about 17 million hectoliters or 3.4% over the past 5 years.

For non-alcoholic drinks, AB InBev produced 73.2 million hectoliters in 2022 and 69.6 million hectoliters in 2021.

A trend worth mentioning is that ABI’s non-beer or non-alcoholic beverage production volume has been on a significant rise since 2018.

For example, ABI’s non-beer production volume increased by 5% in 2022 from 2021 or by 18% over the past 5 years since 2018.

On the other hand, AB InBev’s own-beer production volume has only managed to grow by 3.4% since 2018.

AB InBev’s third-party product production volume has been insignificant between 2018 and 2022.

It produced only 3.9 million hectoliters of 3rd-party beverages in 2022 and about 3.4 million hectoliters in 2021.

Since 2018, ABI’s 3rd-party product production volume has been on a decline, down roughly 9 million hectoliters or 19% over the past 5 years.

Percentage Of Production Volume By Segment

ABI’s percentage of segment to total volume (click image to enlarge)

In terms of the percentage of production volume by segment, the chart above shows that AB InBev’s own beer volume took up the lion’s share of the total volume, topping nearly 90% in all fiscal years.

Despite the huge contribution from ABI’s own beer volume, the percentage has been on a steady decline as shown in the chart, dropping from 88.3% measured in 2018 to 87% as of 2022.

In 2022, AB InBev’s own beer volume contributed to as much as 87% of the total production volume, a new low in the past 5 years.

In contrast, the percentage of ABI’s non-beer beverages has been on an increase, rising from 10.9% measured in 2018 to a record high of 12.3% as of 2022.

For 3rd-party products, the percentage to total volume has been roughly flat and totaled only 0.7% as of 2022.

Growth Rates Of Production Volume By Segment

ABI’s segment growth rates (click image to enlarge)

For year-on-year growth rates, fiscal 2021 marks a turnaround for AB InBev as shown in the chart above.

As seen, AB InBev’s year-on-year growth rates for all segments, including its own beer and 3rd-party products, had been negative prior to 2021.

Fiscal 2020 seems like the worst year for AB InBev as production volumes for own beer and non-beer were down by high single-digits.

However, in 2021, ABI managed to grow its own beer production volume by 8.8% from the prior year and a massive 16.3% for the non-beer segment.

The growth continued into 2022 but with lower growth rates compared to that of 2021.

For example, AB InBev’s own beer volume grew only 1.8% in 2022 over 2021 while that of non-beer volume came in at only 5.2% in 2022 which was far lower than that of 2021.

Despite the lower growth rates registered in 2022, ABI’s non-beer segment grew much better in all fiscal years than its own-beer segment.

In fiscal 2022, ABI’s 3rd-party product production volume grew 16% from 2021, possibly the best figure that has ever been reported.

In short, AB InBev has been able to grow the production volumes of its non-beer or non-alcoholic segment at much better growth rates than its own-beer segment.

In this aspect, the growth rates of non-beer volume between 2018 and 2022 have been far better than that of own-beer volume.

Own Beer Production Volume

ABI’s Own Beer Production Volume (click image to enlarge)

On a TTM basis, AB InBev’s own beer production volume has significantly improved in pos-pandemic periods.

For example, since 2020, AB InBev’s own beer production volume has been on a rise, reaching 518.5 million hectoliters as of Q1 2023, a record high since 2020.

The 2023 figure has even exceeded those reported during the pre-COVID periods, indicating that ABI’s own beer production volume not only has fully recovered but also thrived in the post-pandemic world.

Compared to the result reported a year ago, AB InBev’s Q1 2023 result represents a rise of 1.6% year-over-year.

Non-Beer Production Volume

ABI’s Non Beer Production Volume (click image to enlarge)

AB InBev’s non-beer segment registered an even better result compared to its own-beer segment.

As seen in the TTM plot above, ABI’s non-beer production volume dipped only minimally during the COVID-19 period in 2020 compared to the much worse result reported for its own-beer segment in the same period.

Since 2020, AB InBev’s non-beer production volume has soared and reached a record high of 73.9 million hectoliters as of Q1 2023.

Compared to the result reported a year ago, AB InBev’s Q1 2023 result represents a rise of 3.2% year-over-year, which was much better than the growth rate of its own-beer segment for the same period.

Third-Party Product Production Volume

ABI’s 3rd Party Products Production Volume (click image to enlarge)

AB InBev’s 3rd-party product production volume could only reach 4 million hectoliters as of Q1 2023, a far lower figure compared to the historical high.

While ABI’s 3rd-party product volume may not be as good as the results of other segments, it has risen significantly since 2021.

As of Q1 2023, AB InBev’s 3rd-party product production volume topped 4 million hectoliters on a TTM basis, a record high since 2021 but was significantly below that reported during the pre-COVID periods.

Production Volumes By Region

AB InBev’s Production Volumes By Regions (click image to enlarge)

From the chart, AB InBev produced the biggest beverage volumes in South America, at over 164 million hectoliters as of 2022.

This is followed by the Middle Americas region in which AB InBev produced the 2nd biggest beverage volume, at 147.6 million hectoliters in 2022.

AB InBev’s North American operation contributed about 103 million hectoliters of beverage volume to the company in 2022.

Of all the regions, AB InBev’s South America and Middle Americas were the only region reporting an increase in production volumes for the period between FY2018 and FY2022.

Moreover, South America has been the most resilience of all the regions, as the rise of beverage production volume in this region occurred not only in all fiscal years but also even during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

While the Middle Americas region underperformed in 2020, it grew significantly during the post-pandemic periods and reached nearly 148 million hectoliters as of 2022, up 4% from 2021.

Other regions such as North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific have all been flat or even declined in terms of beverage production volumes between FY2018 and FY2022.

AB InBev’s Asia Pacific operation saw its production volumes decline the most, from more than 100 million hectoliters recorded in FY2018 to only 89 million hectoliters recorded as of FY2022.

Percentage Of Production Volume By Region

ABI’s percentage of region to total volume (click image to enlarge)

For the percentage of production volume by region, ABI’s South America garnered 27.6% in 2022, making this region the biggest in terms of volume.

AB InBev’s Middle Americas grabbed 24.8% as of 2022 with respect to the total volume, coming in 2nd after South America.

ABI’s North American region topped 17.3% as of 2022 as the third largest share of the total production volume.

The EMEA and Asia Pacific both topped 15.3% and 14.9%, respectively, as of 2022, with the Asia Pacific being the least in terms of volume contribution.

A trend worth mentioning is that the South America and Middle Americas regions were the only regions that saw their percentage rising between 2018 and 2022.

The North American, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific regions have all registered a decline in terms of the percentage with respect to the total production volume over the past 5 years

Growth Rates Of Production Volumes By Region

ABI’s regional growth rates (click image to enlarge)

Among all the regions, AB InBev’s South American operation has been the most resilient among all regions as shown in the chart above.

As seen, AB InBev’s South America region reported positive yearly growth rates of 4.9%, 8.6%, 3.3% and 3.0% in 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively.

AB InBev’s South America had continued to grow irrespective of COVID-19 pandemic, an ongoing war in Ukraine, a supply chain crisis or an inflationary environment.

The rest of the regions have experienced at least a production volume decline in any fiscal year.

That said, AB InBev’s Asia Pacific was probably the region with the worst growth, having a production volume that declined 16% year-on-year in 2020.

Similarly, AB InBev’s North America also had not been doing any better.

For example, in most fiscal years, AB InBev’s North America had negative growth rates.

While most regions experienced high single-digits growth rates in 2021, it was not the case for North America.

As seen, ABI’s North America production volume grew only 0.1% in 2021, the lowest among all regions in the world.

Despite the poor performance of the North American region, AB InBev’s production volumes for the rest of the countries have performed relatively well since 2021.

In fiscal 2022, ABI had positive production volume growth in most regions except in North America where it actually declined by 4% over 2021.

North America Production Volume

ABI’s North America Production Volumes (click image to enlarge)

The TTM plot above shows the declining trend of AB InBev’s North America production volume over the past 5 years.

As of 1Q 2023, ABI produced only 102 million hectoliters in North America on a TTM basis, a record low in the past 5 years.

Compared to the figure reported a year ago, the 2023 Q1 result was down 3% year-over-year.

South America Production Volume

ABI’s South America Production Volumes (click image to enlarge)

On the contrary, AB InBev’s production volume in South America has been on the rise and reached a record high of 164.2 million hectoliters as of Q1 2023.

Compared to the figure reported a year ago, ABI’s 2023 Q1 result in South America was up 3.5% year-over-year.

As mentioned, South America has been the most resilient region compared to other countries in the world.

AB InBev’s durable and strong production volume in South America is reflected in the continuous rise of the plot in the past 5 years.

Even during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, ABI’s production volume in South America dipped only marginally and quickly recovered in subsequent quarters, indicating the durable business operation and strong demand in South America for the company’s products.

Middle Americas Production Volume

ABI’s Middle Americas Production Volumes (click image to enlarge)

AB InBev’s production volume in Middle Americas also has soared considerably after experiencing a significant decline during the COVID-19 crisis in 2020.

As seen, ABI produced about 147.6 million hectoliters of beverages as of Q1 2023 on a TTM basis, a record high over the past 5 years.

Compared to the figure reported a year ago, AB InBev’s 2023 Q1 result in Middle Americas was up 3.5% year-over-year.

Europe, Middle East And Africa (EMEA) Production Volume

ABI’s EMEA Production Volumes (click image to enlarge)

EMEA includes countries in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

That said, ABI’s production volume in the EMEA region also has risen significantly after having a dive in production volume during the midst of the COVID crisis in 2020.

As seen, as of 1Q 2023, AB InBev produced about 90.6 million hectoliters of beverages on a TTM basis, a record high figure which has even surpassed that reported during the pre-COVID periods.

Asia Pacific Production Volume

ABI’s Asia Pacific Production Volumes (click image to enlarge)

AB InBev’s production volume in the Asia Pacific has not been able to take off successfully after a significant dive during the COVID-19 period.

As seen, as of 1Q 2023, ABI produced only 90.7 million hectoliters of beverages on a TTM basis, a far lower figure compared to that reported in the pre-COVID periods.

The reason is partially driven by the divestment of ABI’s Australian subsidiary in 2019 which has caused a significant decline in volume production in subsequent years.

Nevertheless, since 2020, AB InBev’s production in the Asia Pacific region has steadily improved and the 1Q 2023 result represents a rise of 3.3% year-on-year.

Conclusion

To recap, AB InBev’s beverage production volumes in most regions have been the rise after a dramatic decline during the COVID period, illustrating that recovery has been playing out for the company since 2020.

For production volume by segment, AB InBev’s non-beer production volume grew at a much faster growth rate than its own beer volume.

For production volume by region, we saw that countries in the South America region have been the most resilient in terms of volume growth rates in most fiscal year.

As seen, AB InBev’s production volume in South America has been on the rise irrespective of what is happening around the world, i.e. a pandemic, an on-going war, a supply chain disruption or an inflationary environment.

Also, the South America region has been ABI’s largest market by production volume while the countries in the Asia Pacific region have been the smallest market by production volume.

References and Credits

1. All financial figures presented in this article were obtained and referenced from AB InBev’s earnings releases, reports and SEC filings which are available in AB InBev Presentations.

2. Featured image was used under Creative Common Licenses and obtained from toyohara and VISITFLANDERS.

Disclosure

The content in this article is for informational purposes only and is neither a recommendation nor a piece of financial advice to purchase a stock.

If you find the information in this article helpful, please consider sharing it on social media and also provide a link back to this article from any website so that more articles like this one can be created in the future.

Thank you!