Zhongjin: BUD APAC (01876) first quarter performance meets expectations, full-year performance is expected to gradually stabilize by quarter.

CICC released a research report stating that BUD APAC (01876) saw a 0.1% year-on-year increase in total sales volume in the first quarter, with revenue decreasing by 0.7% and average selling price dropping by 0.8%, while EBITDA fell by 8.1% year-on-year. The performance is in line with the bank's expectations. With a narrowing decline in sales volume in China, continued strength in India, and improved market share in South Korea, the bank believes that the full-year performance is expected to stabilize gradually each quarter. Considering the possibility of the company moderately increasing investments, the bank has lowered its EBITDA forecasts for 2026 and 2027 by 3% each, to 1.544 billion USD and 1.587 billion USD respectively. Due to the support from the dividend yield, the bank maintains the target price for BUD APAC at 9.8 Hong Kong dollars and a "outperform" rating in the industry.