Sabeco’s parent company says overseas beer sales drop due to Vietnam market slowdown

The decrease in Sabeco’s revenue and the slowdown in performance in some ASEAN countries were main causes of Thaibev’s overseas beer revenue drop, company said in a financial statement.

During the previous 3 months, ThaiBev collected $2.34 billion in revenue, an increase of 4.2% from a year earlier. The Sabeco's parent company's net profit increased by 23% to $286.5 billion.

In the revenue structure, beer revenue accounts for more than $1 billion. Total beer consumption in the last quarter was 731.4 million liters, a slight decrease of 0.1% compared to the same period of 2018.

However, excluding Sabeco's beer sales, ThaiBev's beer consumption still grew by 13.5% to reach 253 million liters.

Sabeco has witnessed the decline in revenue for the first time. In previous fourth quarter beer sales of the company at the peak season contributed the largest part to the company’s overall business.

In the fourth quarter of 2019, Sabeco recorded $404 million in revenue, down 7% compared to the same period last year.

The quarter revenue drop came from the decline in beer consumption as well as the change in ownership ratio of a subsidiary in the system, Sabeco said.

In addition, Sabeco was also affected by the Covid-19 epidemic when consumers restricted gathering at restaurants.

During the past three weeks, Sabeco's market capitalization decreased by more than $1.3 billion. Sabeco share closed on the trading session of February 18 at VND 178,000 ($7.39) per share, a three-year low.