SABMiller second-quarter underlying sales rise, forex impacts margins

LONDON (Reuters) - Brewer SABMiller reported higher underlying sales for the second quarter on Thursday, a day after larger rival Anheuser-Busch InBev launched a $100 billion-plus takeover bid for it.

The maker of beers such as Peroni and Grolsch said its performance accelerated in the second quarter, with underlying revenue up 6 percent and beverage volume up 2 percent from the prior year. That marked an improvement from revenue up 3 percent and volumes flat in the first quarter.

On a reported basis, revenue fell 12 percent to $10.0 billion and earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) fell 11 percent to $2.9 billion in the six months to Sept. 30, due to the depreciation of currencies against the U.S. dollar.

The weakness of currencies such as the South African rand reduced EBITA by $497 million in the first half, with a further impact on margins, the company said.

Excluding the currency impact, SABMiller said earnings and margins improved due to strong growth in Africa and Latin America and its success in selling more higher-priced products.

SABMiller said growth would continue to be driven by developing markets and its focus on more premium drinks, though foreign exchange would continue to weigh on results. Raw material input costs are expected to rise by a low single digit rate in constant currency terms.

The company said it plans to deliver more than $430 million in annual savings by the end of its fiscal year, on 31 March 2016. That is ahead of its original target, for savings of $500 million by 2018.

The takeover of the company, one of the largest in corporate history, is not expected to close until the second half of 2016, due to various antitrust approvals needed.

(Reporting by Martinne Geller; editing by Jason Neely and Susan Thomas)