(Bloomberg) -- AB InBev SA, the world’s largest brewer, said consumer appetite for beer remains resilient despite headwinds from higher prices, just a day after rival Heineken NV warned of softening demand.

The maker of Budweiser and Stella Artois reported adjusted Ebitda growth of 6.5% in the three months ending Sept. 30, topping analysts’ estimates, while raising the lower end of its annual profit growth forecast.

“We continue to see strong consumer demand for our portfolio and a resilient beer category,” Michel Doukeris, AB InBev’s chief executive officer, said in a statement.

The company’s shares jumped as much as 6.2% in early trading, the most in seven months. 

Beer and spirits makers have been raising prices to offset higher raw material costs, but there are signs drinkers are starting to balk. Shares of Heineken fell 5% on Wednesday after the second-biggest brewer warned of slowing demand in Europe. Carlsberg lifted its profit forecast, but CEO Cees ‘t Hart said consumer sentiment is “weakening.”

World Cup

AB InBev, the main beer sponsor of the World Cup in Qatar in November, now sees annual Ebitda growth of 6% to 8%. It had previously forecast 4% to 8% growth. 

The brewer reported some challenges in Europe, where it said revenue grew but Ebitda declined by mid-single digits because of higher commodity costs and increased sales and marketing investments to support its World Cup sponsorship. 

What Bloomberg Intelligence Says:

The ability of AB InBev to raise prices -- 8.2% in the year to September -- without crushing volume is impressive, but with declines in both the gross (286 bps) and the Ebitda margin (143 bps), it seems more needs to be done. Marketing spending is set to increase in 4Q for the World Cup, and getting the message right may mean a further hit to short-term profitability, but this is vital for the longer-term potential.

-- Duncan Fox, BI consumer-products analyst

AB InBev Robust Pricing Isn’t Sufficiently Driving Margin: React

The Leuven, Belgium-based brewer said its overall organic revenue grew by 12.1% in the quarter to $15 billion, beating estimates of 10.8% growth. Volumes increased by 3.7%.

(Updates with share price reaction in fourth paragraph and BI analyst comment)

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