SABMiller PLC, the world's second-largest brewer, said Tuesday that lager sales volume was flat in the last three months of 2009, its fiscal third quarter, as a drop in European markets offset gains in developing regions.
SABMiller, brewer of Grolsch, Pilsner Urquell and Peroni Nastro Azzurro beers, also reported that soft drink volume was up 2 percent in the third quarter.
The company did not report earnings in its trading update. The volume figures excluded acquisitions and disposals since last year.
SABMiller said third quarter lager volume was up 7 percent in Africa, 5 percent in Asia and 4 percent in Latin America, but down 2 percent in Europe in the third quarter.
In North America, sales to retailers by MillerCoors, the joint venture with Molson Coors, were down 3.6 percent for the quarter, and sales to wholesalers were down 4.2 percent.
For the first nine months of the financial year, the company said lager sale volumes were down 1 percent from year-earlier levels.
