Sales-by-volume, which excludes any rised caused by acquisitions or disposals, slid 0.4%, the Leuven-based company said in a press statement.
Sales in North America fell by 3.4% in the quarter due to lower demand and product price rises. Anheuser-Busch InBev, the brewer of Bud Light and Stella Artois, had said earlier this year that growth would be “softer” due to the economic downturn in the US and heavy rain in Brazil reduced purchases. Market share for Budweiser continued to fall in America too, although at a slower rate than in late 2010.
“Despite management guiding to a soft start to the year in March, the first quarter still came in below the consensus on organic volume,” said analysts at Jefferies investment bank in London in a press release. “The US remains challenging and Brazilian volumes were slightly softer than expected.”
