Brazil's Ambev sees higher costs in 2023 as Q4 net profit rises 36%

Ambev SA

02/03/2023 11:15

SAO PAULO, March 2 (Reuters) - Ambev SA  ABEV3.SA  said
on Thursday it expects the cost of goods sold per hectoliter at
its beer business in Brazil to rise by 6% to 9.9% in 2023,
citing inflation levels and higher commodities prices.
    Nonetheless, that would represent a slow down from 2022,
when the company - a subsidiary of Belgium's Anheuser-Busch
InBev SA  ABI.BR  - reported a 22% jump in costs on a yearly
basis.
    The announcement came as the Brazilian brewer reported a
fourth quarter net profit of 5.08 billion reais ($980.81
million), up 35.7% from a year earlier and above an estimated
4.22 billion from analysts polled by Refinitiv.
    Net revenue rose 3.1% in the period to 22.69 billion reais,
driven by a 1.5% increase in volumes sold, according to a
securities filing.
    Chief executive Jean Jereissati said 2022 overall was a
"solid year" for Ambev, mentioning a "double-digit growth both
in net revenue and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation and amortization), boosted by continued momentum in
Brazil".

($1 = 5.1794 reais)

 (Reporting by Gabriel Araujo and Alberto Alerigi Jr.; Editing
by Steven Grattan)
 ((Gabriel.Araujo2@thomsonreuters.com; +55 11 5047-3352;))