ST. LOUIS -- Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc.'s CFO, W. Randolph Baker, said Wednesday that the firm's InBev supply disruptions have been resolved. A-B, which became the exclusive U.S. importer for InBev's European portfolio earlier this year, noted in its first-quarter conference call that it had incurred supply disruptions, which have led to low inventories at bars and retailers.
During the first quarter we did have significant allocation problems, Baker said Wednesday during the company's second-quarter conference call, according to a report by The St. Louis [image-nocss] Business Journal. He said A-B incurred shortages in bottles and draft beer. In the second quarter, on top of that, we had basically bottle shortages in Europe and keg shortages.
Baker said that the bottle shortages have been resolved but that the firm still has shortages in draft beers or kegs. He said A-B expects to catch up by the end of July or August and get up to adequate inventories.
He made no mention of recent speculation on a merger between A-B and InBev.
InBev, the leading global brewer by volume, is a publicly traded company based in Leuven, Belgium. It has a portfolio of more than 200 brands, including Skol, the third-highest-selling beer brand in the world.
Earlier Wednesday, St. Louis-based A-B reported its second-quarter earnings; the firm made a $677 million profit in the period, said the report.
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