$1.28bn profit fails to cheer AB InBev

ANHEUSER-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer and maker of Budweiser, yesterday posted a fourth-quarter profit of $1.28 billion (£852m), up from $29m last year, after a series of cost cuts and price hikes.

But the firm said global beer sales were stagnant and were unlikely to rebound in 2010.

AB InBev sold 0.7 per cent less beer and soft drinks in 2009 during the economic downturn and said that demand was currently neither growing nor shrinking. "We see no improvement in the operating environment today," said chief financial officer Felipe Dutra.