SABMiller has announced that its organic lager volumes witnessed 1% decline in the third quarter ended 31 December 2014, due to fall in demand in China and Colombia.
According to the figures released by the company, group net producer revenue (NPR) in China declined by 7% driven by a volume decline of 9%, with double digit declines in the northeast and central provinces due to the continuing impact of the previous quarter's adverse weather conditions in key regions.
Although in Latin America, sales grew by 5%, the lager volume dropped by 1% in Colombia, where the company presently has 98% market share in the beer market. The company is likely to face competition soon from domestic soft-drink manufacturer Postobon SA in the beer segment.
The group NPR grew by 4% during the third quarter, with group NPR per hectolitre growth being registered in all regions.
However, sales volumes of soft drinks across the group increased by 4% during the quarter.
SABMiller CEO Alan Clark said: "We continued to drive steady net producer revenue growth, notwithstanding varied local market performances, as we benefited from the breadth of our global portfolio of businesses.
"During the quarter, our Latin America and Africa businesses continued to grow both volumes and revenues, together with Europe, while more difficult trading conditions, particularly in China, held back the overall group performance."
Europe witnessed 3% increase in group NPR, driven by beverage volume growth of 2% with lager volumes also up 2%.
North America group NPR declined by 1%, while Asia Pacific group NPR declined by 2%.
Africa's group NPR grew by 7% in the quarter driven by beverage volume growth of 4%.
