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ABInBev: "Total volumes in 1Q12 grew 1.8%"

(beveragemanager.net) - Anheuser-Busch InBev NV said Monday its 1Q net profit jumped 75 % thanks to lower financing costs and taxes as well as bigger beer sales.

In 1Q12, ABInBev`s three global brands of Budweiser, Stella Artois and Beck’s grew by 4.8%. Total Focus Brands volumes grew by 3.5%, led by the Bud Light brand family and Stella Artois in the United States, Budweiser and Harbin in China, Antarctica, Brahma and Budweiser in Brazil and Quilmes in Argentina.

Net profit rose to $1.69 billion between January and March from $964 million a year earlier, after a sharp drop in financing costs as well as declining taxes. AB InBev's chief financial officer, Filipe Dutra (photo), said the company was benefiting from growing profits in countries like Brazil, where the tax rate is lower than in Europe and the USA. (bmg)