Outlook
InBev forecasted that 2008 will be a challenging year as costs of shipping glass and aluminum continue to rise. The company said it will maintain rise in cost of sales in the first half in line with 4% weighted average inflation.
The current dividend policy allows for the payment of, on average, between 25% and 33% of the previous fiscal year’s net profit. In the future, the board will implement a more progressive dividend approach in which the 33% maximum payout is removed. In addition, the share buyback program for up to 300 million euro of InBev shares, announced on 21 January 2008, has been concluded, with a total amount of 207 million euro purchased. InBev has initiated a new buy-back program of InBev shares for an amount up to 500 million euro, for the next twelve months.
In January 2008 InBev reached an agreement with its partner in InBev Shiliang (Zhejiang) Brewery to increase InBev’s stake in this business to 100% and assume full control after the government approval. |