AB InBev profit up sharply on Brazil, SABMiller savings

BRUSSELS(Reuters) - Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest beer maker, reported higher profit than expected in the fourth quarter as Brazil rebounded and savings flowed in from its 2016 purchase of SABMiller.

The brewer of Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona said on Thursday it expected that revenue and core profit (EBITDA) would grow strongly in 2018, with revenue per hectolitre rising by more than inflation and costs by less.

Core profit (EBITDA), the result most watched by the company and markets, rose by 21 percent on a like-for-like basis in the fourth quarter to $6.19 billion, above the average forecast in a Reuters poll of $6.03 billion.

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek)