Brewers maintain their outlook as consumers drink less

Brewers have been raising prices to offset surging ingredient and production expenses.

Three of the world’s biggest brewers are confident they can hit profit targets this year even as drinkers in many parts of the world pull back on buying beer following a prolonged period of inflation.

Budweiser-maker Anheuser-Busch InBev and Carlsberg A/S stuck to their forecasts yesterday and separately announced share buybacks in a sign of confidence that any dip in consumer sentiment will not last long. Last week, Heineken also held the line on profit and said demand will gradually recover, noting that in half of its markets volume trends are already starting to improve.