The world’s second biggest brewer's sales rose as gains in Asia and Africa more than offset declines in Europe

SABMiller Plc, the world’s second biggest brewer by volume, said first-half beer sales rose as gains in Asia and Africa more than offset declines in Latin America and Europe – Bloomberg published.

The quantity of lager sold increased 1 percent in the six months ended Sept. 30, excluding the effect of acquisitions, London-based SABMiller said today. That beat the 0.5 percent median estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

SABMiller is among brewers seeking growth in developing markets and through takeovers to combat sluggish consumer spending in Europe. Sales declined “marginally” in Latin America and slid 5 percent in Europe, while gaining 10 percent in Asia and 7 percent in Africa, the company said.

The brewer’s third-biggest market of South Africa, which contributes about 23 percent of revenue, “was the star of the show,” bolstered by the effects of the World Cup soccer tournament, said Simon Hales, a London-based analyst at Evolution Securities. “A big, positive swing” in Europe in the second quarter, bolstered by Russia, also helped.

SABMiller rose as much as 16 pence, or 0.8 percent, to 2,075.5 pence and was up 0.2 percent as of 12:45 p.m. in London trading. The stock has gained 13 percent this year, valuing the company at 32.7 billion pounds ($52 billion).