Budweiser owner AB InBev: profits up 5.5 percent in third quarter despite weak volumes

AB InBev SA, the world's largest beer maker, has reported a 5.5-percent increase in earnings for the third quarter, as higher selling prices more than made up for volume declines in Europe and Asia.

Net profit at the brewer of Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona was $2.50 billion, compared with $2.37 billion in the same period a year earlier. Revenues were up 2.3 percent to $12.2 billion, as volumes fell 2.6 percent, but the company's revenue per beer increased by 4.9 percent.

Though the Leuven, Belgium-based InBev suffered a 9.5 percent volume decline in Europe, it won a full percentage point of market share in Brazil, where it now controls 60 percent of the beer market. It also increased market share in China, by 1.5 percentage points to 16.5 percent.