Longtime Anheuser-Busch InBev CFO Felipe Dutra may be on the way out according to a report by the Financial Times. Sources say the company is looking to improve its bottom line and boost its stock price. AB InBev stock hit a high of $102.70 in July but is since down 20 percent. Tuesday, Jan.7, it closed down 2.06 percent to $81.61.
Market cap is still over $137 billion, but the FT report says that frustrations with Dutra are due to the $100 billion in debt the company is carrying following its purchase of SABMiller in 2016. Other FT sources say that Dutra’s possible departure is merely due to moving on after 20 years with the beer giant and still others say Dutra isn’t going anywhere. Although AB InBev has seen a slump in China and also a downtick in the U.S. as consumer drinking habits change, the company still sells one out of every four beers bought globally thanks to Budweiser, Corona, Stella Artois, Becks, Hoegaarden, Leffe, Michelob, Modelo, Labatt, Lowenbrau and around 400 other brands.
Most of that expansion and industry consolidation had been due to Dutra’s leadership partnered with CEO Carlos Brito. But not even the beer universe can expand forever, so company decision-makers may be looking to make a change, which could come as early as February.
A company spokesperson declined to comment.
By Howard Gensler
Source: Forbes
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