SAO PAULO, Brazil, Aug. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Companhia de Bebidas
das Americas - AmBev (BOVESPA: AMBV4, AMBV3; and NYSE: ABV, ABVc), announces
today its results for the second quarter 2008 (Q2 2008). The following
financial and operating information, unless otherwise indicated, is presented
in nominal Reais and prepared in accordance with Brazilian GAAP and should be
read in conjunction with our quarterly financial information for the three
month period ending June 30, 2008. Our press release segregates the impact of
organic changes from those arising from changes in scope or currency
translation. Scopes represent the impact of acquisitions and divestitures and
the start-up or termination of activities. Comparisons, unless otherwise
stated, refer to the second quarter of 2007 (Q2 2007). Values in this release
may not add up due to rounding.
OPERATING AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Brazil's volumes recover while Quinsa and North America continue their
strong performances.
Volume growth: Total volumes increased organically by 4.8% during Q2 2008.
Brazilian Beer and CSD volumes recovered from a weak first quarter to post
organic growth of 3.8% and 2.5%, respectively, although consumer spend
continues to be under pressure from food inflation. Our operations in Quinsa
delivered double-digit organic volume growth of 13.3%. North America volumes
were flat with poor weather leading to a weaker Canadian industry.
Market Share improvement: We continue to make progress on market share.
Argentina and Canada delivered market share growth for the quarter year over
year while in Brazil, our average market share for the quarter was 67.3% for
Beer and 17.4% for CSD, flat and 60 bps higher than second quarter 2007,
respectively.
Top line growth: Net sales increased organically by 8.3% during Q2 2008.
Net revenues per hectoliter (+3.3%) were impacted positively by price
increases, our continued focus on revenue management best practices and the
development of the premium segment in all of our major markets.
Cost of Goods Sold and SG&A: COGS per hectoliter increased 3.3% in the
quarter due to higher commodity prices such as barley and corn, partly offset
by gains arising from sugar hedges and currency appreciation.
