Anheuser-Busch has lost hundreds of millions of dollars as a result of the coronavirus outbreak this year, the company said.
The company reported on Thursday that it has missed out on approximately $285 million in revenue during the first two months of 2020, as well as lost earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of about $170 million in China. In the company’s release, which included a report on 2019 and an outlook for 2020, it specifically attributed the decline in revenue to the coronavirus outbreak.
Anheuser-Busch also noted that the outbreak has lead to a decreased demand in China in homes and on premises. Additionally, the demand in China around the Chinese New Year, which was on Jan. 25, was lower than it had been in previous years.
“The impact of the COVID-19 virus outbreak on our business continues to evolve,” the company wrote. “The outbreak has led to a significant decline in demand in China in both on-premise and in-home channels. Additionally, demand during the Chinese New Year was lower than in previous years as it coincided with the beginning of this outbreak.”
Anheuser-Busch predicted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization to decline about 10% during the first quarter of 2020 “given the impact of” the virus.
The epicenter of the outbreak is in Wuhan, China. More than 81,000 people have been infected with coronavirus in 38 countries. A significant majority of those cases were found in Wuhan while more 3,000 people have died from the disease worldwide. There have been more than 50 confirmed cases in the United States.
