Cheers! Chang Beer overhaul works wonders for ThaiBev's sales

Its market share is steadily growing.

Nothing's going to stop Thais from guzzling their beer, not even mounting economic difficulties. ThaiBev's beer sales jumped 61.1% in the first quarter, while overall beer revenue surged by a staggering 71.3%.

Analysts say that the spike in beer sales is partly due to ThaiBev’s successful repackaging of its Chang beer brand. Chang Beer was recently re-launched with the streamlining of its sub-brands into just Chang Classic and repackaged into emerald green bottles, from amber. The group’s market share has risen to around 40% in Q1, from just 30% half a year ago.

“ThaiBev’s 1Q16 results blew us away with a solid momentum, particularly from its Beer segment,” DBS said in a report.

ThaiBev’s net profit rose 30% y-o-y to THB8.56bn during the quarter, the highest core net profit recorded since 2006.

"The positive surprise arose largely from the surge in its Beer segment’s profits as it continued to post strong volume growth and higher margins, following on its momentum in 4Q15," DBS added.

DBS expects ThaiBev's robust profit growth to continue in coming quarters on back of strong beer sales.

"With a solid performance in 1Q16 and the strong momentum in Beer, we believe the market will continue to gain confidence in the group’s potential to deliver," said DBS.