Anglo-South African brewer SABMiller said Thursday that its first-half net profits grew by almost a quarter thanks to rapid growth in Africa and other emerging markets.
Lager volumes in Africa grew 15 percent on an organic basis with robust growth continuing across the region, SABMiller said in a results statement.
Reported group revenue up 10 percent, with rising volumes in Asia, Africa and Latin America. EBITA was up 10 percent.
SABMiller said it had performed well in a "mixed" trading environment.
"The group delivered a good financial performance in trading conditions which remained mixed across our markets," it said.
"Latin America, Africa and Asia delivered good volume growth reflecting the strength of our brands and sales execution against a backdrop of increasing consumer expenditure.
"Conversely, in the USA and Europe, consumer markets remain weak. Trading conditions in Europe were also affected by competitor price reductions and intensified marketing investment and promotional activity."
Graham Mackay, Chief Executive of SABMiller, said: “Top and bottom line growth has been strong in most of our developing market businesses, propelled by our continued investment in brands, sales and marketing capability and production capacity. Market conditions have remained challenging in the USA and much of Europe and increases in input costs have continued, as expected. We have taken further steps to extend our global portfolio: our planned alliance with Anadolu Efes and recommended proposal to acquire Foster’s both represent strategically important moves into attractive markets.”

Image: SABMiller