Brewers to gain from commodity prices

Less volatile commodity prices are likely to provide a boost to the earnings of beverage companies, according to a six-month update to the Industry Outlook for the global Beverage Industry, just published by Moody's.

The report noted however that in 2009 the effects were not consistent across the agency's rated universe.

"Carlsberg Breweries (Baa3/stable) benefited as early as 2009 from lower input costs in its Eastern European division, whilst they will only materialise, at least more markedly, in the current year in its Western European division.

"Similarly, SABMiller (Baa1/stable) should see benefits in the course of its FYE March 2011 when its hedging positions, which have so far prevented the company from taking advantage of lower commodity prices, unwind," the rating agency said.

"However, some raw materials costs are creeping up again, which could influence profitability. Among those are packaging costs and sugar (outside of the EU), a key input for soft beverage companies," it added.


 
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