Quarterly profit of AB InBev registers fall by reduction of sales in Brazil

Brussels, May 4 (AFP)-the 2016 AB InBev, Belgian and Brazilian capital, a world leader in the sector of beers, announced a profit Ebitda (before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) in the first quarter of 3.462 billion dollars, a fall of 13% annual pace.
The slowdown was caused by the reduction in turnover, which fell back 10% in the period, to 9.4 billion dollars, the group said in a statement.
AB InBev, which expects the European Commission confirm until 24 May to merger with the British SABMiller, maintains the operating profit forecast for the whole fiscal year 2016, but without revealing an estimate.
"We have advanced considerably with regard to obtaining the necessary regulatory authorizations for the rapprochement with SABMiller", says the company, which provides for the end of the operation in the second half of 2016.
The merger announced at the end of 2015, with a value of more than 100 billion dollars, would be, if implemented, the third largest in history.
According to the group, in the first quarter to AB InBev recorded a fall in the volumes delivered in America, responsible for more than half of its activity.
"In Brazil, our beer volumes fell 10%", explains the group, highlighting "an unfavourable macroeconomic environment compared to the first quarter of the previous year.
To convince the competition authorities regarding the merger with SABMiller, AB InBev announced in recent weeks the sale of some activities or brands of beer.
The Italian Peroni and Grolsch''s Dutch were negotiated by SABMiller with Japanese Asahi. The British company also ceded major holdings in the American Group and its Chinese coempresa MillerCoors with China Resources Beer.