Earnings

Due to the “greater than expected continuing decline in demand in the hard seltzer category,” Boston Beer Company has “reduced” its fiscal year 2022 volume and earnings guidance, founder and chairman Jim Koch said in a press release announcing the company’s Q2 2022 results.

Pricing was the clear theme of the question-and-answer portion of Constellation Brands’ first quarter FY2023 earnings call on Thursday. More specifically, analysts were wondering why the company is hesitant to increase price in an inflationary environment. CEO Bill Newlands reiterated that Constellation’s “long-term algorithm on pricing is +1%-2%,” although last year it increased beer prices +3.5%.

Constellation’s beer depletions increased +8.7%, while shipments grew +17.3%, to 99.5 million case equivalents during the first quarter of its 2023 fiscal year, the company reported today. Net sales increased +21%, to more than $1.898 billion, with gross profit of more than $1 billion (+14%). The beer business’ operating income also increased +13%, to $762.8 million.

Ball Corporation, the world’s largest manufacturer of aluminum beverage cans, reported $1.6 billion in sales in its North and Central America beverage packaging business unit for the first quarter of 2022, a +23% increase over the same period last year.

Anheuser-Busch InBev increased total revenue (+11.1%), volume (+2.8%) and revenue per hectoliter (+7.8%) in the first quarter of 2022, the company reported today.

Cycling a soft first quarter of 2021, Molson Coors Beverage Company reported a +16.7% increase in net sales, to more than $2.2 billion, in Q1 2022, the company reported today.

Boston Beer Company is maintaining its guidance of 4% to 10% volume growth in 2022, despite first quarter losses, the company’s leadership team shared during an earnings call with investors Friday.

Boston Beer Company’s big first quarter in 2021 as it built hard seltzer inventories is coming to roost a year later. The company reported declines in depletions and shipments of -7% and -25.1%, respectively in the first quarter of 2022.

Constellation Brands’ beer business recorded an +11% increase in net sales growth, to $6.75 billion, for the company’s 2022 full fiscal year. FY 2022 marked the company’s 12th consecutive year of volume growth, with +8.8% shipments (sales to wholesalers) growth and +8.9% depletions (sales to retailers) growth – amounting to an additional 30 million case equivalents, CEO Bill Newlands said during a conference call with investors.

On February 17, Monster completed its acquisition of CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective LLC for $330 million, bringing a roster of craft beer brands into its portfolio including Oskar Blues, Cigar City, Deep Ellum, Perrin Brewing, Squatters and Wasatch.

Anheuser-Busch InBev’s global revenue reached $54.3 billion in 2021, the company reported today during its full-year and Q4 2021 earnings report. CEO Michel Doukeris noted that the world’s largest beer manufacturer’s volume hit an “all time high” in 2021, increasing +9.6% for full-year 2021, to nearly 581.7 million hectoliters (495 million barrels).

Molson Coors’ net sales increased +6.5% for the full 2021 fiscal year and +14.2% in the fourth quarter, the company reported today. The company posted net sales of $10.279 billion for the year that ended December 31. Worldwide, shipments (sales to wholesalers) declined -0.5% and brand volume (similar to depletions, which are sales to retailers) declined -1.7% over the course of the year.

Boston Beer Company has “many different ways” to reach the 4%-10% growth range it is targeting for 2022, even if Truly Hard Seltzer fails to grow amid the continued slowdown of the hard seltzer segment, CEO Dave Burwick said during the company’s fourth quarter and full-year earnings call.

Heineken NV reported its full-year 2021 earnings Wednesday, giving a picture into the state of its U.S. business. The Dutch brewing giant’s Heineken USA division posted low-single digit beer volume growth in 2021. However, the company recorded a nearly $231 million impairment charge related to Lagunitas.