管理層發言
Good day, everyone, and welcome to CCU's Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call on August 5, 2026. Please note that today's call is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Claudio Heras, the Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.
Welcome, and thank you for attending CCU's Second Quarter 2026 Conference Call. Today with me are Mr. Eduardo Rodríguez, Chief Executive Officer; Mr. Felipe Dubernet, Chief Financial Officer; and Mr. Diego Munizaga, Financial Planning and Investor Relations Manager. You have received a copy of the company's consolidated second quarter 2026 earnings release. As usual, the call will start by reviewing our overall results, and then we will move on to a question-and-answer session. Before we begin, please take note of the following statements. The statements made in this call that relate to CCU's future financial results are forward-looking statements, which involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual performance or results to materially differ. These statements should be taken in conjunction with the additional information about risks and uncertainties set forth in CCU's annual report submitted to the CMF and in our Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, both documents available on our website. It is now my pleasure to introduce our CEO, Mr. Eduardo Rodríguez.
Thank you very much, Claudio, and thank you all for joining us today. It is my pleasure to share with you our second quarter 2026 financial results for the first time as CEO of CCU, a company in which I have worked for more than 20 years, and I am proud to lead at a time that we need to look to the future with the strength and conviction that has always characterized us as we face a particularly challenging context. Nonetheless, we have always shown a long-standing track record of adaptability and, for sure, execution. Therefore, to continue successfully shaping our future, I would like to mention some relevant changes that we have defined. We have designed the strategy Vamos por Más, which is built on our four main pillars: first, increase our focus on businesses; second, boost operational synergies; third, act with greater agility; and fourth, accelerate our transformation. These pillars are oriented to generate growth and to respond to the new demands and challenges of the market. To support this strategy, we will execute changes in our organizational structure as well as strengthen our internal processes and capabilities to remain at the cutting edge of new trends while enhancing our technological transformation. This transition will be implemented gradually throughout this year with our main focus being to ensure operational continuity and, for sure, performance. I am confident in the commitment that has always characterized all the CCU employees. Together, we will prepare CCU to successfully navigate current and future challenges. Regarding our second quarter performance, CCU delivered a solid 59.4% consolidated EBITDA expansion, mostly driven by a robust set of results in our main operating segment, Chile, which expanded EBITDA 26.2%. The international business operating segment also contributed to a higher EBITDA by posting a 25.8% lower EBITDA loss, as we continue facing a soft consumption environment in Argentina. On the other hand, the wine operating segment contracted EBITDA by 61.9%, sharply impacted by unfavorable trends for the wine category globally and a higher cost of wine. I will now pass the call to our CFO, Felipe Dubernet, who will give you further details about our performance by operating segment during this quarter. Felipe?
Thank you, Eduardo, and good morning, everyone. Consolidated net sales grew 4.8%, almost fully explained by 6.4% higher average prices in CLP as volume declined 1.5%. Higher prices in Chilean pesos were mostly a consequence of revenue management initiatives in all our operating segments. In terms of volumes, the 2.5% increase in the Chile operating segment was offset by decreases of 7.4% and 13.7% in international business and wine operating segments, respectively. Gross profit grew 6.8% and gross margin improved 76 basis points. MSD&A expenses rose 3.3% due to higher distribution expenses associated with higher oil prices during the quarter and restructuring expenses in Argentina and in the wine operating segment. This was partially offset through ongoing efficiency initiatives, mainly in logistics. As a percentage of net sales, MSD&A expenses decreased 62 basis points. In all, EBITDA grew 59.4%. Regarding net income, we recorded a higher loss versus the second quarter of 2025, mostly due to a nonrecurring negative effect of CLP 6,068 million from an impairment loss related to our business in Bolivia and lower income taxes in the second quarter of 2025 coming from a nonrecurring positive tax effect in Argentina. In terms of our segments, the Chile operating segment expanded top line by 1.5%, explained by 2.5% higher volumes gaining overall market share versus the same quarter of last year, partially offset by a 1% decrease in average prices in Chilean pesos. During the quarter, the nonalcoholic categories grew mid-single digits, outweighing the low single-digit decline in alcoholic categories, which encompasses beer and spirits. Flavored low-alcohol ready-to-drink products led by brands such as Stones in beer, Mistral and Kantal in spirits continue to show excellent results with volume growing double digits in the quarter and representing 8.3% of total alcohol in this segment as of June 2026. Average prices contracted due to a mix effect in the portfolio, partially offset by revenue management initiatives in all categories. Gross profit increased 9.4%, mainly driven by lower direct costs, mostly coming from the 5% appreciation of the Chilean peso against the U.S. dollar, impacting favorably our U.S. dollar-denominated costs, partially offset by higher aluminum prices. MSD&A expenses grew 3.5% below inflation, although as a percentage of net sales increased 71 basis points due to expense pressures coming from higher distribution costs, partially offset by efficiencies. Altogether, EBITDA recorded a 26.2% increase and EBITDA margin expanded 264 basis points. I would like to mention that during the quarter, CCU acquired a 49% equity interest that Nestlé Chile held in our subsidiary, Aguas Nestlé. After this acquisition, CCU reached 100% ownership in this subsidiary, allowing us to further consolidate our leadership in a steadily growing water industry in Chile, which is expanding low double digit as of June 2026. Following the transaction, we will maintain our strategic relationship with Nestlé, continuing the distribution of the ready-to-drink coffee-based beverage products and water brands in Chile. In the International business operating segment, net sales increased 15.7%, driven by 24.9% higher average prices in Chilean pesos, partially offset by a 7.4% contraction in volumes. Higher average prices in Chilean pesos were due to revenue management initiatives, mainly with price actions in Argentina in line with inflation. Volumes in these segments were below last year, mainly explained by Argentina due to a high single-digit contraction in beer and water industries and a difficult business scenario in Bolivia, marked by social unrest and protests that disrupted our operations. Gross profit increased 20.8%; expenses grew 7.6%; as a percentage of net sales expenses decreased 460 basis points. EBITDA resulted in a 25.8% lower loss versus the second quarter of 2025. During the quarter, we incurred restructuring expenses in Argentina amounting to CLP 1,408 million. The wine operating segment posted a top line drop of 14.1%, mostly driven by the 13.7% decrease in volumes as average prices contracted 0.5%. Lower volumes were driven by industry contraction in export and domestic markets in Chile. The decline in average prices was due to a negative mix effect in the portfolio and a stronger Chilean peso against the U.S. dollar, which impacted export revenues. These effects were partially offset by revenue management initiatives. Gross profit fell 26.9%, mostly due to cost pressures from a higher cost of wine, partially offset by efficiencies in manufacturing. MSD&A expenses dropped 3.7%, mostly due to the lower business scale. Altogether, EBITDA decreased 61.9%. During the quarter, we incurred restructuring expenses amounting to CLP 1,633 million. To navigate the difficult scenario in the wine business, we will continue pursuing efficiencies and keep developing a strategy of accelerating high-margin innovation. In this regard, as of June 2023, flavored low-alcohol ready-to-drink products based on wine almost doubled versus last year, mostly driven by the launch of the single-serve can version of one of our brands, among other brands backed by our multi-category production capabilities. Regarding our main joint venture and associated business in Colombia, we posted mid-teens volume growth during the quarter. We are focused in that country on building brand equity and scale to enhance profitable growth in the future. Now we will be glad to answer any questions you may have.
分析師問答
Our first question comes from Alejandro Fuchs from Itaú BBA.
I have two very quick ones, if I may. The first one, I wanted to see if maybe you could elaborate a little bit on how you see the competitive environment in Chile, especially in the soft drink market. Anything that has changed in the last couple of months? And maybe how do you see the rest of the year? And then the second one, in terms of alcoholic, especially beer in Argentina, we saw volumes continue to be pressured despite the sporting events this quarter. So I wanted to see if you could break down for us what do you expect for the rest of the year and if there was a positive impact or not given the sporting event in the country?
Alejandro, I will take the first question on Chile. In terms of the competitive environment in Chile, especially in soft drinks, this is a very mature category comprised of different segments. Actually, we operate nine segments within that microcategory. It has always been very competitive, but we believe that the trends will continue. All the better-for-you products, all the healthier products such as waters, flavored waters, juices, and functional products are growing, and we expect they will continue growing. We have a strong position in terms of market shares in those categories, and we will invest in those categories to get more innovations and to push the mix in those categories. Within the carbonated soft drink categories, we are doing a great job with Pepsi within the cola segment and with strong brands in the flavor subsegment as well. But we believe that soft drinks will continue growing mainly through better-for-you products, where we have a very strong position. The second question, beer in Argentina, I will pass that to Felipe.
Alejandro, yes, in the second quarter, as you noticed, the beer industry contraction was high single digit. However, we are comparing against a particularly high comparison base in the second quarter of last year. In quarter three of last year volumes collapsed in line with a significant rise in interest rates in Argentina and higher unemployment due to macroeconomic adjustments. So we should see a recovery in volumes in the second half of 2026. One reason is the comp base in quarter three; another is that we are seeing a continuous improvement in volume trends in Argentina since March. If we seasonally adjust volumes in Argentina, we are seeing recovery month-on-month since March. A more stable macroeconomic scenario in terms of inflation and devaluation has not yet translated into a more dynamic consumption environment. However, everything is volatile, and while I cannot guarantee outcomes, we should see a more robust consumption environment toward the end of the year as we have seen some good signs since March in terms of improvement of volumes.
Our next question comes from Fernando Olvera from Bank of America.
My first question is related to the strategic plan that you mentioned in your initial remarks. Maybe if you can give some color of what are some of the targets that you are planning to achieve with this new strategic plan in the medium term? That would be great. And my second question is related to Chile. How do you expect consumption to behave in the remaining of the year? And maybe if you could share some initial thoughts about 2027 considering the mega reform approved by the government?
I'm very optimistic for the future, so I'll address both questions. Regarding the new strategy, this new strategy will be part of our new strategic plan. We are going to create a new strategic plan based on two main things. The first is a four-year plan looking forward to 2030 and setting some KPIs for that year. The second is that we are going to update the current strategic plan to create a new one based on the strategy format I mentioned at the beginning. This strategy is built on the four main pillars I explained. First, focusing on businesses — this doesn't mean we haven't had focus before, but we will strengthen our focus by separating or differentiating our core businesses from our high-potential businesses. We will go deeper in our multi-category strategy with focus on each single category, leading distinct consumption occasions and growing volume and margin across all our operations. We will be very focused on consumer occasions and go deeper in those occasions to satisfy consumers in different places and times with our multi-category portfolio, which we believe is a major strength. The second pillar is operational synergies. We will reach greater productivity and efficiencies, leveraging our multi-category strengths and reducing redundancies across the company. We have already implemented some synergies in wines and liquors in the domestic Chilean market, and we have several more initiatives to come to get more synergies leveraging our multi-category footprint. Third is agility. We will implement greater autonomy to respond to the market. We live in a volatile market with accelerated change, and we want to be more agile to respond to those changes. We are reducing operational friction and implementing real-time control in our operations with leaner, more connected structures. Fourth is transformation. We have been investing in digital tools in sales, logistics, and planning, integrating new tools, people, structures, and industrial processes in our facilities. We will scale up that transformation with an architecture based on new processes and technologies, putting digital transformation as the number one enabler of synergies and growth. That's the mindset for our new strategic plan focused on profitable growth based on our main capabilities. Regarding per capita consumption and volume trends in Chile, of course the macroeconomic outlook is important. We see continued headwinds on alcohol consumption trends, but we believe that with innovation and targeted actions we can begin to turn that around domestically. The wine situation is mainly a global trend, but we are seeing early promising signs with new ready-to-drink wine products; we launched such a product about a month ago, and it has been very successful. We believe we can stem the alcohol downtrend domestically by focusing on innovation and consumer occasions. On the nonalcoholic side, as I mentioned, our better-for-you portfolio of waters, flavored waters, juices, nectars, and functional products is strong and #1 in many of those categories. We expect these categories to continue growing and to integrate new consumer occasions. For the second semester, we expect to monitor macroeconomic developments, but we are confident our portfolio is well positioned to respond as the economy improves.
Let me complement what Eduardo has said regarding tax reform. I think it's good news for the country: the approval of the new tax reform reducing corporate taxes in Chile. When this will translate into more consumption is something we cannot predict. In the long term, it's positive for the country to boost investment and employment, which could support consumption for our products. However, many variables will determine the ultimate effect on consumption.
Our next question comes from Felipe Ucros from Scotiabank.
Perhaps a few follow-ups on the new strategy and the upcoming midterm plan that you're still working on. I realize that you're still working on the plan, so it's probably a little too early to have definitive answers, but perhaps you can give us some initial thoughts on three things I'm curious about. The first one is hedging. CCU has stood out within the publicly traded industry as one of the only companies that doesn't hedge, right? And there's some chatter in the market that this generates different pricing needs than your competitors. So just wondering if within your strategy there are any changes that you plan to make around this or perhaps bring to the Board for potential changes. The second side is wine. Obviously, it seems like you're already doing some restructuring there and you're innovating quite a bit. But wondering if there's a bigger transformation around the approach and the strategy that you guys have had towards the wine segment — perhaps whether you'll try to accelerate premiumization or any other things that you plan to change there? And then the last one is for Colombia, where you guys had a decent performance this quarter. Just wondering if there are any changes that you plan on that side of the business?
Our policy regarding hedging of commodities and exchange rate exposures remains unchanged. This policy is reviewed annually by the Board of CCU, but as of today it remains unchanged.
Regarding wine, we are facing important global trends. We are an important player in Chile and in exports. We are doing two main things. First, we are integrating liquors and wines domestically to capture synergies and to better satisfy consumer occasions: consumers increasingly choose by occasion rather than by single product, and combining wines and spirits in our portfolio allows us to meet those occasions better and potentially increase volumes. Second, for exports, we are focusing on increasing our footprint outside Chile, getting more markets, strengthening production capabilities, and capturing production synergies and efficiencies. We believe these actions can begin to turn around the situation in wine, although we will continue to monitor how the global market evolves and make additional decisions as needed. Regarding Colombia, we still see plenty of space to grow. Colombia is an interesting country undergoing political change, but momentum is good: we posted double-digit growth in beer and other categories. Colombia is a core country for the Vamos por Más strategy. We will strengthen our position there and aim to continue building scale and share.
Maybe one follow-up on the cost of wine, which stood out in contrast to what a competitor reported with a strong harvest and lower wine costs. Could you comment on why you see a difference? Perhaps it has to do with regions, climate, or the grape grades you use. Just wondering if you can comment a little about that differential?
Regarding wine cost: this year we are facing a particularly unfavorable input cost in terms of wine cost in our P&L, as is the case across the industry. While there has been a positive harvest in parts of the region which should reduce costs going forward as inventories are replenished and as we deplete higher-cost inventory, the business is suffering from a combination of lower consumption and higher input costs, including exchange rate effects for our export business this year. We see some improvement on the horizon with input costs for wine, but how quickly this translates into lower reported costs will depend on inventory depletion and how volumes evolve going forward.
Our next question comes from Thiago Bortoluci from Goldman Sachs.
My one question is for you, Eduardo. Now that you've taken the CEO role and evaluated the situation in Chile more broadly, how satisfied would you say you are with the price points and price sensitivities, price relativities in each of the categories in Chile? Do you think there is any particular segment that needs a more focused targeted shift or strategic pilot in the next six months? Related to this, how do inflation and oil prices particularly impact your pricing decisions for the second half of the year? I know you have already implemented a price adjustment. How much of your underlying cost inflation is covered with this?
As you see in the presentation, we had very strong results in Chile across categories. Through both alcoholic and nonalcoholic categories, we are keeping momentum and market share in beer while improving prices, and we are seeing excellent development in the nonalcoholic business, improving market shares and prices. This positions us well for the second semester. There are always opportunities on pricing: consumers are less willing to accept across-the-board price increases than in the past, so we need refined approaches. Revenue growth management is an important part of the new strategy. We have initiatives like trade promotion optimization within modern trade and the use of algorithms. We have proprietary algorithms called Sales that help our revenue growth management in traditional trade to drive price without harming consumption across SKUs. Technology, processes, and intelligent algorithmic approaches will help us improve mix not only via prices but also via channel, format, and pack-type mix. We have done a good job on pricing in the first semester and will continue with new tools and initiatives in the second half.
Our next question comes from Alvaro Garcia from BTG Pactual.
Eduardo, Felipe, congrats on the new role. I have a question on the Nestlé transaction, the water transaction in Chile. One, it's a pretty hefty transaction from a financial standpoint. How are you thinking about leverage heading into 2027, and how are you thinking about dividends into 2027? Second, does 100% ownership change the operating model for that business specifically? Does it give you more flexibility on brand strategy in water?
Regarding the water transaction and strategy: the water business is growing a lot and includes mineral waters, purified water (which competes directly with tap water), and flavored waters. Our strategy remains the same, but this acquisition will strengthen parts of that strategy. We will continue to build momentum with Cachantún as the #1 mineral water in the country. We've launched several innovations with Cachantún, including a successful strong variant and a black variant, which have been successful and have helped capture occasions beyond standard water consumption. For flavored waters, flavors and different pack types are growing; we are introducing innovations and gaining traction. Regarding purified water, we shifted our strategy from a license model to strengthening our Manantial brand, which has done very well in increasing market share sustainably and taking volumes from tap water. With this acquisition, we will be more agile in decisions around the water business and accelerate growth. I will pass on leverage and dividends to Felipe.
Leverage increased from 1.7x last quarter to 2.4x this quarter because we used cash on hand that came from the proceeds of the 1.4 international bond we issued in 2022 to fund the acquisition. The transaction is accretive and will further enhance our net income going forward as we now consolidate 100% of this business. Looking ahead, if we see a recovery in Argentina and continue to deliver strong results in Chile, we expect to converge toward our target net leverage range of 1.5x to 2.5x EBITDA going forward. We expect to reduce leverage over time as operations and results improve. Regarding dividend policy, CCU's policy is to distribute at least 50% of net income, and that policy is maintained for this exercise. For 2027, any change would be subject to the shareholder meeting, typically in April, but as of now the policy remains to distribute at least 50% of net income.
Our next question comes from Rodrigo Alcantara from UBS.
Just want to touch base again on Argentina. From a macro perspective I understand the difficulty, but I wasn't clear about share performance during the quarter. When you look at your numbers versus another brewer, what do you attribute the share performance we observed in beer? Can you give granularity on the portfolio, the brands, Heineken portfolio and your own brands? What are you planning to do to revert that share-wise in the second half? And when should we expect the launch of Heineken Ultimate following its launch in Brazil — would it be fair to assume a launch in Argentina soon?
On market share in Argentina, our Nielsen numbers show our year-to-date market share is fairly stable and slightly growing in value share, though volume share is flatter. We are eager for more and believe our new strategy for Argentina next year will help gain share. We have strong national brands and important local brands that can perform well region by region. As Felipe mentioned, we implemented several price increases in the last quarter, which is reflected in value share performance. Regarding Heineken Ultimate, we have a strong innovation pipeline. Heineken Ultimate targets consumer occasions not satisfied by standard beers; it is performing well in Brazil and we are evaluating integrating that innovation in several operations across our footprint, including Argentina. News will come soon.
Our next question comes from Maria Paula from Nestlé.
I have two questions about the Colombian market. First, is the current expectation for Colombia to continue delivering mid-teens growth? Or are there any anticipated changes to the growth trajectory moving forward? Second, as part of the Vamos por Más strategy — given Colombia is one of the core countries and the strategy aims to deliver higher quality and more profitable growth — should we expect Colombia to continue relying primarily on the value segment as a growth driver, or will there be a stronger strategy focused on premium brands moving forward?
Thank you for the questions. Regarding the first, it's difficult to predict, especially with political change in Colombia and a new government setup. We still believe Colombia has plenty of space for growth and remains an important market for us. We have built strong brands and have pockets of very strong performance, for example in Cartagena. I can't guarantee the industry will grow at the same mid-teens pace consistently, but we expect to increase our competitive position. In terms of portfolio, Colombia is currently more mainstream compared to other Latin American markets and is dominated by our competitor. To improve profitability, we will compete asymmetrically with a differentiated portfolio, increasing brand breadth across channels and segments to reach better profitability over time.
Our next question comes from Kevin Zavala from UBS.
My question is regarding distribution expenses. This quarter distribution remained a source of pressure despite efficient initiatives already underway. Could you explain which components are driving the increase — such as fuel, labor, fleet utilization, etc.? And in relation to that, which business processes are the first targets for your digital investment? What do you expect as the most tangible benefits — sales effectiveness, demand forecasting, procurement, manufacturing, logistics — from this digital investment?
Kevin, we build our KPI as total expenses which includes production costs, distribution costs, MSD&A as a whole. Despite higher distribution cost because of oil price pressures, we have reduced our overall expenses over net sales by 56 basis points on a consolidated basis, which is positive, and we kept expenses below Chilean inflation for the period. We have been investing behind brands while delivering efficiencies, mostly in logistics, which was one of the areas led by Eduardo in his prior role. Also note we incurred restructuring costs in Argentina and the wine business; if we exclude those effects, total consolidated expenses grew about 3%, well below inflation. Going forward, improving margins toward pre-pandemic levels will require further efforts in synergies and efficiencies.
Kevin, digital transformation is a key pillar in Vamos por Más. We have had success with initial initiatives, but they were implemented in silos. The new structure will integrate transformation activities end-to-end, so logistics, sales transformation, IT, and AI capabilities are connected rather than isolated. We will implement control towers for real-time control in logistics, planning, commercial, and industrial operations to enable real-time synergies and faster decision-making. When you manage efficiencies and only look at results one month behind, you cannot make the necessary real-time adjustments. Integrating these systems will enable improved sales effectiveness, better demand planning, procurement optimization, manufacturing efficiency, and logistics optimization. There are many examples, but the overarching point is we will move from siloed pilots to an integrated end-to-end architecture that drives tangible operational improvements.
Thank you so much. I'm not seeing any more questions. I will hand it back to the CCU team for the closing remarks.
Thank you. Thank you all and thank you, moderator. Thank you to everyone who listened to this Q&A session and the presentation, and thank you to those who asked questions. I am very optimistic and eager for more. In this new role, having been with CCU for over 20 years, I am committed and looking forward to the challenges ahead. We will navigate the current volatile context while projecting CCU's future. We will act with more agility and more focus while delivering synergies and efficiencies across all operating segments, together with strengthening our portfolio to adapt to new consumer trends by growing in high-margin innovation categories, which is key for our plan. Working collaboratively, we will be prepared for 2027 and our 2030 strategic plan with more focus, more synergies, more agility, and more transformation. Vamos por Más. Thank you very much for your attendance and see you in the next chapter.
This concludes the call for today. We are now closing all the lines. Thank you, and have a nice day.