SABMiller sees Europe and U.S. tough after H1 miss

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Brewing giant SABMiller Plc narrowly missed forecasts with an 11 percent rise in half-year earnings on Tuesday and cautioned that trading in Europe and North America will stay tough as its input costs ticked higher.

The world’s No 2 brewer and maker of Miller Lite, Peroni and Grolsch earns over 80 percent of its profit from fast- growing emerging markets and these growth markets helped offset flat or declining North American and European profits.

The London-based company reported adjusted earnings per share of 103.3 U.S. cents for its half-year to end-September, below the 103.9 cents from a company-compiled consensus and a ThomsonReuters I/B/E/S forecast of 103.5 cents.

“Economic and market environments in the USA and Europe are expected to remain difficult with generally favorable conditions elsewhere, particularly in Latin America and Africa,” Chief Executive Graham Mackay said in a results statement.

Reuters