SÃO PAULO, Brazil, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ambev S.A. [B3: ABEV3; NYSE: ABEV] announces its results for the first quarter of 2020. The following operating and financial information, unless otherwise indicated, is presented in nominal Reais and prepared according to the International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) and to the accounting practices issued by the Brazilian Accounting Standards Committee ("CPC”) and approved by the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (“CVM”). The information herein should be read together with our financial information for the three-month period ended March 31, 2020 filed with the CVM and submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).
OPERATING AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Net revenue: Net revenue was down 1.6%, with volume declining by 5.6% and growth in net revenue per hectoliter (NR/hl) of 4.3%. Net revenue was down in Brazil (-9.6%) and Central America and the Caribbean (CAC) (-10.2%), while up in Latin America South (LAS) (+22.4%) and Canada (+3.3%). In Brazil, volume was down 9.1% and NR/hl was down 0.5%. In CAC, volume declined 13.5% and NR/hl grew by 3.8%. In LAS, volume was up 6.4% and NR/hl rose by 15.0%. In Canada, volume and NR/hl increased by 3.1% and 0.1%, respectively.
Cost of goods sold (COGS): COGS and cash COGS (excluding depreciation and amortization) were up 9.3% and 10.2%, respectively. On a per hectoliter basis, COGS grew by 15.8% while cash COGS was up 16.7%, mainly due to transactional currency headwinds and inflationary pressures in Argentina.
Selling, general & administrative (SG&A) expenses: SG&A and cash SG&A (excluding depreciation and amortization) were up 8.5% and 6.6%, respectively, below our weighted average inflation (approximately 9.3%). The increase was mainly driven by inflationary pressure in Argentina and front-loaded sales and marketing investments in Brazil.
EBITDA, gross margin and EBITDA margin: EBITDA reached R$ 4,232.5 million, which corresponds to an organic reduction of 18.1%, with a gross margin of 55.2% (-450bps) and EBITDA margin of 33.6% (-680bps). The EBITDA margin was impacted by a higher cost of sales resulting from transactional currency headwinds, higher SG&A resulting from the phasing of sales and marketing expenses in Brazil and operational de-leverage from lower volumes.
Normalized profit and EPS: Normalized profit was R$ 1,227.8 million, 55.6% lower than in 1Q19, due to lower EBITDA and higher financial expenses. Normalized EPS in the quarter was R$ 0.07 (-58.6%).
Cash generation and CAPEX: Cash flow from operating activities was R$ 1,544.1 million (-25.8%) and CAPEX reached R$ 1,346.3 million (+146.6%).
| Financial highlights - Ambev consolidated |
1Q19 |
1Q20 |
% As Reported |
% Organic |
| R$ million |
| Volume ('000 hl) |
41,296.4 |
|
39,011.5 |
|
-5.5% |
|
-5.6% |
|
| Net revenue |
12,640.1 |
|
12,602.6 |
|
-0.3% |
|
-1.6% |
|
| Gross profit |
7,532.4 |
|
6,959.4 |
|
-7.6% |
|
-8.9% |
|
| % Gross margin |
59.6% |
|
55.2% |
|
-440 bps |
|
-450 bps |
|
| Normalized EBITDA |
5,120.7 |
|
4,232.5 |
|
-17.3% |
|
-18.1% |
|
| % Normalized EBITDA margin |
40.5% |
|
33.6% |
|
-690 bps |
|
-680 bps |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Profit |
2,749.1 |
|
1,211.3 |
|
-55.9% |
|
|
| Normalized profit |
2,762.4 |
|
1,227.8 |
|
-55.6% |
|
|
| EPS (R$/shares) |
0.17 |
|
0.07 |
|
-59.0% |
|
|
| Normalized EPS (R$/shares) |
0.17 |
|
0.07 |
|
-58.6% |
|
|
Note: Earnings per share calculation is based on outstanding shares (total existing shares excluding shares held in treasury).
Ambev S.A.
Investor Relations Department
Contact e-mail: ir@ambev.com.br
