Owners of Corona Beer facing worst quarter in 10 years following Coronavirus outbreak

The company that owns Corona beer is facing its worst quarter in 10 years following the coronavirus outbreak. Anheuser-Busch In Bev owns some of the world’s most famous beer brands, including Budweiser, Stella Artois, Beck’s and Corona.

But in the last two months since coronavirus has been spreading throughout China, the company has suffered a $170m (£132m) loss in of earnings in the country, at at time when they were expecting strong sales because of lunar new year.  The losses have forced it to cut its chief executive’s bonus and forecast one of the steepest declines in its quarterly profits.

The losses in sales is widely attributed to the fact the beer’s name coming up in online searches for corona and virus, despite the fact that the beer and virus have nothing in common. Corona manufacturer Constellation Brands Inc. saw its shares fall eight per cent this week at the New York Stock Exchange. Corona is one of the most popular beer brands in the world.

The Independent / EPA