SAO PAULO, Feb. 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Companhia de
Bebidas das AmFicas – Ambev [BOVESPA: AMBV4, AMBV3; NYSE: ABV,
ABVc] announces today its results for the fourth quarter and full
year 2012 results. The following operating and financial
information, unless otherwise indicated, is presented in nominal
Reais and prepared according to International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRS), and should be read together with our
financial information for the twelve-month period ended
December 31, 2012 filed with the CVM
and submitted to the SEC.
Operating and Financial Highlights
Top line performance: Net revenues were up 13.7% in the
quarter, leading to 12.4% better top line results for FY 2012,
which represents an improvement versus 2011, when top line grew
9.9%. Likewise, total volumes were above last year's
performance (+2.0% for FY 2012, up from +0.8% in 2011) while also
resuming growth in the short-term (+1.7% during Q4 2012) thanks
primarily to a quick volume recovery in our Brazilian operations
following our Q3 2012 price increases. Net revenue per
hectoliter (NR/Hl) ended the year up 11.5% as compared to Q4 2011
(+10.0% in FY 2012) given better pricing performance in
Brazil, but also in LAS and
Canada, helping offset low-single
digit negative volumes in these two international operations.
Meanwhile, HILA-ex wrapped up its game-changing year with the
acquisition of Cerveceria Nacional Dominicana by also delivering
7.7% organic top line growth for the year.
Cost of Goods Sold (COGS): COGS increased 13.4% in Q4
2012 and 10.2% for the year, whereas on a per hectoliter basis,
costs grew 11.1% and 7.9%, respectively. In the fourth
quarter we continued to suffer from greater barley, aluminum and
sugar costs, as well as negative package mix, while currency hedges
were less of a tailwind. In addition, increased industrial
depreciation resulting from capital expenditures in Brazil was once again a relevant factor.
Accordingly, COGS/Hl (excluding depreciation) rose by 9.8% in
Q4 2012 and 7.1% in FY 2012, which was in line with the average
inflation in the countries where we operate.
Selling, General & Administrative (SG&A)
expenses: SG&A (excluding depreciation and amortization)
growth decelerated as compared to the first three quarters of the
year, and grew 7.7% in the quarter (+13.0% for the year). Q4
2012 performance was positively impacted by lower administrative
expenses (mainly bonus accruals due to a favorable comparison with
Q4 2011) primarily in Brazil,
combined with lower commercial spend in Canada versus prior quarters. On the
other hand, we continued to witness labor-related inflationary
pressures on our distribution expenses in Argentina and Brazil, while we also decided to continue
investing behind our brands to support our commercial initiatives
during peak season in Brazil and
LAS.
EBITDA, Gross margin and EBITDA margin: Normalized EBITDA
grew 15.7% in the quarter, reaching R$
5,511.6 million. As a result, we delivered
R$ 15,679.0 million of Normalized
EBITDA in FY 2012, which represents a 13.6% improvement against FY
2011. EBITDA performance in the quarter was mostly driven by
Brazil and LAS' double-digit, top
line-led growth, though Canada
managed to deliver positive EBITDA growth despite negative volumes,
and HILA contributed with R$ 117.7
million of EBITDA (R$ 204.9
million for FY 2012 as compared to -R$ 24.5 million during 2011). Moreover, our
strong finish to the year allowed us to achieve expansion in both
Gross and EBITDA margins for the quarter (+10 bps and +90 bps,
respectively) and for the year (+60 bps and +50 bps,
respectively).
Operating Cash generation and Profit: Cash generated from
our operations in Q4 2012 rose 27.8% versus the same period last
year, totaling R$ 7,401.4 million
(R$ 15,774.2 for the year, which was
14.4% higher than FY 2011). In terms of profits, through the
combination of the aforementioned EBITDA growth and a lower
effective tax rate, our Normalized Profit in the quarter reached
R$ 3,734.4 million and Normalized
Earnings Per Share (EPS) were R$
1.19. For the full year, Normalized Profit totaled
R$ 10,558.5 million and Normalized
EPS were R$ 3.38.
This press release segregates the
impact of organic changes from those arising from changes in scope
or currency translation. Scope changes represent the impact of
acquisitions and divestitures, the start up or termination of
activities or the transfer of activities between segments,
curtailment gains and losses and year over year changes in
accounting estimates and other assumptions that management does not
consider as part of the underlying performance of the business.
Unless stated, percentage changes in this press release
are both organic and normalized in nature. Whenever used in this
document, the term "normalized" refers to performance measures
(EBITDA, EBIT, Profit, EPS) before special items adjustments.
Special items are either income or expenses which do not occur
regularly as part of the normal activities of the Company. They are
presented separately because they are important for the
understanding of the underlying sustainable performance of the
Company due to their size or nature. Normalized measures are
additional measures used by management and should not replace the
measures determined in accordance with IFRS as indicators of the
Company's performance. Comparisons, unless otherwise stated, refer
to the fourth quarter of 2011 (Q4 2011) or full year 2011 (FY
2011), as the case may be. Values in this release may not add up
due to rounding.
SOURCE Ambev