Brazilians are drinking more beer.
The world’s biggest beer company is finally wining back more customers in its backyard.
Anheuser-Busch InBev, a Brazilian-owned firm and brewer of Budweiser and other brands, reported solid results Thursday, backed by beer sales rebounding in its home market.
“We remain optimistic about Brazil in the long run,” the company said in its earning statement.
The good start to 2017 may be a harbinger of things to come down the road for Brazil’s economy. AB InBev’s beer sales there, measured in volume, rose 3.4% in the first three months of this year.
That’s not soaring but it’s far better than the 5.3% decline in beer volume the company experienced last year in Brazil. AB InBev officials also cautioned that volumes probably declined this spring.
Any rebound is telling for Brazil, which is in its worst recession ever. Unemployment is at an all-time high at 13%, and millions are without work.
Despite the summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro last year, beer sales dropped in Brazil as a political and economic crisis overshadowed the tourism boost.
Most economists believe that Brazil’s economy is through the worst of its recession and will start to grow, albeit at a glacial pace, this year. If true, it’d be good news for AB InBev, which gets 16% of its total sales from Brazil.
AB InBev stock rose 4% Thursday on the company’s overall solid results.
