(Yicai Global) Feb. 25 -- Shares of Budweiser Brewing Company APAC sank afterthe Asia-Pacific arm ofthe world’s biggest brewer posted a 12.4 percent decline in full-year revenue as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The shares [HKG: 1876] closed 7.4 percent lower at HKD25.20 (USD3.25) each, after falling as much as 8.3 percent during trading. The benchmark Hang Seng Index added 1.2 percent.

Revenue was USD5.6 billion in the year ended Dec. 31, the unit ofAnheuser-Busch InBev said in an earnings report released before the market opened today.

The Chinese market began to pick up rapidly last summer and sales grew in the fourth quarter, but Budweiser APAC’s full-year income from the market fell 11 percent from a year earlier due to competition from Chinese rivals.

“While we lost substantial market share between February and April 2020 mainly due to the Covid-19 impact on the on-premise channel, we recovered swiftly through our effective commercial actions and resource allocation,” the company said in its earnings report said.

Early last year, Budweiser APAC forecast a USD285 million revenue drop for the first two months in China. Sales tumbled 17 percent in April, but rebounded rapidly after May, with June’s sales setting a monthly record in China for the company. In the third quarter, sales rose 3.1 percent and revenue jumped 4.8 percent.

Flat Final Quarter

Fourth-quarter performance was lackluster, with sales rising 0.9 percent and revenue up 1.3 percent. Full-year China revenue fell 11 percent. The company lost significant market share due to the pandemic, the report said.

According to industry insiders, Budweiser APAC’s fourth-quarter slowdown in China was due to lower channel inventory resulting from the late Lunar New Year holiday, as well as the squeeze from rivals Tsingtao Brewery and China Resources Beer Holdings.

Judging from the results already reported for 2020, China Resources Beer and Tsingtao Brewery are growing rapidly. China Resources Beer’s net profit was CNY3.83 billion (USD593.7 million) in the three quarters ended Sept. 30, with sales of sub-premium and -above beer up 7 percent over the same period a year earlier.

Tsingtao Brewery’s revenue fell 1.9 percent to CNY24.42 billion in the first three quarters of last year, but net profit rose 15.2 percent to CNY2.98 billion. Its revenue increased 4.8 percent in the third quarter, the highest since 2014.

The epidemic has narrowed the gap between China Resources Beer and its rivals, Chief Executive Hou Xiaohai said at the first Snow Channel Partner Convention held at the end of last year. The company will surpass its main competitors in market share of high-end products by 2025, he added. His comments led to speculation that the firm aims to overtake Budweiser.

Editor: Peter Thomas