TOKYO: Asahi Group Holdings Ltd, the Japanese brewer that’s buying European beer brands worth US$2.9bil from Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, posted its highest-ever first-quarter sales as demand for its alcoholic beverages rose.
Sales rose 1.6% to 380.2 billion yen (US$3.5bil) in the three months ended March 2016, while net income fell 95% to 614 million yen, Tokyo-based Asahi said in a statement. The drop in net income is due to a one-time gain related to an investment in a Chinese company booked in the same period last year, according to the company.