SAB reports strong growth driven by premium beer brands

South African Breweries' (SAB) revenue growth for its 2025 financial year was boosted by their premium and super premium beer brands, SAB CEO Richard Rivett-Carnac said Thursday.

He said they delivered mid-single digit top-line and bottom-line growth. Revenue per hectolitre increased by low-single digits. Volumes grew by low-single digits, but was estimated to have outperformed the industry in both beer and Beyond Beer, which is the portfolio of non-traditional beers. Earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation grew by mid-single digits.

“Both the beer and Beyond Beer categories continued to grow and gain share of alcohol beverages this year according to our estimates. The momentum of our business continued, with focused investments in our megabrands increasing the brand power of our portfolio. Our premium and super premium beer brands grew volumes by mid-teens,” said Rivett-Carnac.

 “In Beyond Beer, our portfolio grew volumes by high-single digits led by Flying Fish and our spirits-based RTD (ready to drink) innovations,” he said.

Meanwhile, the share price of SAB’s parent, the global beer group Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB Inbev) increased by 2.33% to R1244.73 on Thursday morning on the JSE, a price that had risen over 26% over 12 months, following the release of its financial results for 2025. 

Diluted headline earnings per share increased to $3.55 from $2.98. Underlying earnings per share increased by 6% due to continued margin expansion and free cash flow generations of $11.3 billion. A final dividend of €1.00 per share was declared, which, with the interim dividend of €0.15 euro per share, which brought the full year dividend to €1.15.

“In 2025 we executed our strategy, made disciplined capital allocation choices and delivered growth within our outlook for the year, even as we navigate a dynamic consumer environment,” said AB Inbev’s CEO Michel Doukeris in a statement. 

In the premium beer category, Corona led performance, increasing revenue by 8.3% outside of Mexico with double-digit volume growth in 30 markets. In the US, Michelob Ultra was the top volume share gainer and was now the leading brand by volume in the industry. In Brazil, the premium and above portfolio gained share and now leads the premium segment. 

The no-alcohol beer portfolio delivered a 34% revenue increase. No-alcohol beer performance was led by Corona Cero which grew volumes by strong double-digits. The group is the leader in no-alcohol beer in many markets, including US, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Belgium, and there was significant headroom for future growth, said Doukeris.

“We exit 2025 with improved momentum and enter 2026 well positioned to engage consumers with our megabrands and an unparalleled lineup of mega platforms,” he said.

AB Inbev’s beer volumes declined by 2.3% in the 2025 financial year. Normalized earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortization increased by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, and by 9.4% for the full financial year.

The group forecast earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisaton to increase between 4% and 8% for the 2026 financial year, which was in line with the group medium term outlook. Net capital expenditure is expected to be between $3.5bn and $4bn in the 2026 financial year.

“The fundamentals of our business underpinned another year of solid financial performance. Revenue increased by 2%, with growth in 65% of our markets. Underlying EPS increased by 6% and 9.4% in constant currency, and we maintained our solid free cash flow generation. Disciplined revenue management and premiumization drove a revenue per hl increase of 4.4% and efficient overhead management supported an EBITDA margin expansion of 101bps," he said.

"Our ability to deliver consistent results…is a testament to the durability of our strategy and the resilience of our business,” said Doukeris.

BUSINESS REPORT