By Saabira Chaudhuri
LONDON-SABMiller PLC is working on how to get customers to drink
beer with meals at home, as part of broader plans to improve sales
in Latin America, the region on which it depends on for more than a
third of its earnings.
"The highest potential opportunity here is with meals at home,"
Karl Lippert, the company's Latin America president, said at an
event.
"It is also the hardest one, and it'll take us a long time to
actually crack."
In Latin America, beer makes up just 18% of beverages consumed
in the home and just 6% of beverages consumed with meals, according
to the company, the world's second-biggest brewer by revenue after
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA.
SAB's effort to encourage beer-drinking at home is part of its
plan to grow volumes by 3% to 6% over the next three to five years
in Latin America, its most profitable market in the fiscal year
ended March 31.
To do so, the company aims to sell large packs that are more
affordable, beers with less or no alcohol, and more fizzy and
fruity beers. It has also been working to get people to drink beer
more frequently through creating weekly events and offering
discounts.
SAB said it plans to better appeal to women by deploying more
thoughtful mixed-gender marketing, promoting easy-to-drink beers
with lower alcohol content and, again, ensuring affordability.
The brewer in March 2013 said it was targeting a rise in Latin
America beer volumes of 4% to 6% over the medium term, but it has
since delivered 1% growth year-over-year on average. Gary
Leibowitz, the company's senior vice president for investor
relations, on Monday called the figure "disappointing" but said SAB
expects it to improve.
The company said it aims to increase the margin on its earnings
before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization by between
0.1 percentage point and 0.3 percentage point over the next three
to five years. That is significantly below the margin targets laid
out in 2013, even though SAB beat those targets.
"We will have less focus on growing the margin as much as we
have on the top-line growth," Mr. Lippert said. SAB is targeting
growth in revenue per hectoliter of 2% to 4% over the next three to
five years.
Trading conditions have been difficult in the region in recent
years, with the slide in oil prices hitting some countries hard
with growth in Brazil, the biggest economy in South America,
slowing in particular. "When the external factors are not helpful,
it gets harder and harder for us to pursue growth," Mr. Lippert
said.
Still, per capita consumption of beer is about 43 liters a year
in Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, and less than half this rate in
Honduras and El Salvador, leaving what SAB characterized as
"significant room for growth." In Panama, Brazil and Mexico,
consumption is between 65 and 70 liters.
For the year ended March 31, Latin America generated the largest
proportion of SAB's Ebitda at $2.22 billion, representing 35% of
the group's total. Beer's share of alcohol in SAB's Latin America's
markets has risen to 59% from 55% over the past four years as the
company says it has taken share from cheaper spirits and illegal
alcohol.
SAB last month reported lager volumes for fiscal 2015 that were
flat from a year ago, reflecting weakness in China and North
America. Chief Executive Alan Clark at the time also warned that
the market would be challenging in the year ahead, particularly in
developed markets such as Western Europe and Australia.
Write to Saabira Chaudhuri at saabira.chaudhuri@wsj.com
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