Budweiser Brewing Company APAC Ltd

F:4BB

China weak: Budweiser APAC said China was held back by a slower-than-expected recovery, weak on-premise demand, and bad weather, and management said it remained too early to see a Q3 improvement.

Growth markets: South Korea and India continued to offset some of China’s weakness, with Korea gaining share and India delivering double-digit revenue growth and double-digit volume growth in the quarter.

Margins under pressure: First-half normalized EBITDA fell 8.9% and margin contracted by 236 basis points, with management pointing to China topline pressure, higher marketing spend, and lower operating income.

Investment mode: Management repeatedly said it would keep investing behind brands, in O2O, and in China channel expansion even if that keeps margins under pressure in the near term.

Pricing cautious: The company said it was monitoring competitor price moves in China but had no news to share on price increases and remains focused on stabilizing volumes first.

Dividend warning: Management said it is too early to change policy, but if results do not improve, it would be difficult to maintain dividends at current levels.