BRUSSELS, Belgium—InBev SA, the brewer of Stella Artois and Beck's, said Monday it was hiking beer prices as costs for raw ingredients such as malt, barley and aluminum surge.
InBev chief executive Carlos Brito said the beer industry was facing a different environment "that pressures everybody" as inflation bites and basic costs continue to go up.
"You see the possibilities to pass some of the cost to prices," he told reporters after an annual shareholders' meeting. "If your brands are strong enough, you should take that opportunity."
He said the company had already implemented some price rises but refused to give details on future pricing plans. The company would provide more information on the regions and brands where it believes it can hike prices when it reports first quarter results on May 8.
InBev promised in February that it would not hike prices more than inflation -- which it then forecast at some 4 percent for the regions where it operates.
Soaring world prices for energy and food have pushed up inflation in most parts of the world, damping customer spending as shoppers spend more on groceries and transport.
He also warned again of lower growth for the first and second quarters of 2008 when compared with strong results for the same period last year.
Brito earlier told shareholders that price rises in Brazil had cost it some market share that it hoped to recover this year. The company also makes Brazil's best-selling Brahma beer.
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