The company also cut its guidance for sales growth in Brazil this year due to the struggling economy.
The maker of Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona raised its $100bn-plus bid for SABMiller on Tuesday to quash investor dissent over an offer made less attractive by a fall in the pound following Britain’s Brexit vote.
"This offer is final and cannot be increased or otherwise changed," CEO Carlos Brito told a conference call.
AB InBev is still waiting for clearance by Chinese authorities and SABMiller’s view on the revised offer.
It is offering £45 per share, £1 more than in November, and has increased its share-and-cash alternative by 88p.
"We believe the revised and final offer represents a compelling opportunity for all SABMiller shareholders," Brito said.
SABMiller, with prized Latin American and African markets, has told employees to pause the integration of its operations with those of AB InBev as the board weighs the sweetened offer.
Nevertheless, Brito said the two companies had made significant progress together since November on regulatory issues, bond financing and asset disposals in the US, China and Europe, as well as general integration planning.
"It remains our objective to close the transaction in 2016," he said, declining to give further details on the planned takeover.
AB InBev’s core profit in the second quarter rose 4.3% on a like-for-like basis to $4.01bn, below the average Reuters poll forecast of $4.13bn.
The company’s earnings grew in the US, Mexico and China, but continued to suffer in its second-largest market, Brazil, due to a downturn that has dragged on for more than a year.
The company sold 4.5% less beer in Brazil than a year earlier in April-June, an improvement from the 10% drop in the first quarter but below AB InBev’s own forecasts.
It said it expected revenue from Brazil this year to be similar to the level of 2015, down from previous guidance of growth by a mid to high single-digit percentage.
But it also cut its guidance for cost of sales per hectolitre to a low single-digit percentage increase, from a mid single-digit rise seen before, due to savings on procurement and efficiency and greater use of returnable bottles in Brazil.
The company has forecast that its revenue per hectolitre overall will grow ahead of inflation, partly as it pushes drinkers towards more expensive beers, but with challenging conditions in Brazil and China.
Reuters
For more than two decades, I-Net Bridge has been one of South Africa’s preferred electronic providers of innovative solutions, data of the highest calibre, reliable platforms and excellent supporting systems. Our products include workstations, web applications and data feeds packaged with in-depth news and powerful analytical tools empowering clients to make meaningful decisions.
We pride ourselves on our wide variety of in-house skills, encompassing multiple platforms and applications. These skills enable us to not only function as a first class facility, but also design, implement and support all our client needs at a level that confirms I-Net Bridge a leader in its field.
Go to: http://www.inet.co.za
