The nation's largest brewer, with brands like Budweiser, Bud Light and Michelob, said first-quarter net income fell to $510.9 million from $517.5 million a year ago.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Anheuser-Busch Cos Inc <BUD.N> reported lower quarterly profit on Wednesday, as U.S. retailers purchased less beer from wholesalers.
The nation's largest brewer, with brands like Budweiser, Bud Light and Michelob, said first-quarter net income fell to $510.9 million from $517.5 million a year ago.
But the company had fewer shares outstanding in the latest quarter, and per-share earnings rose to 71 cents from 67 cents a year ago.
The St. Louis-based brewer faces a host of challenges, including higher costs for energy and grains and a shift in U.S. consumer tastes away from traditional domestic beer toward wine, spirits, foreign beers or small-batch "craft" beers.
!ADVERTISEMENT!(Reporting by Martinne Geller, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)
