PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech brewer Budvar, which has been embroiled in a long legal dispute with U.S. beer giant Anheuser-Busch over the use of the Budweiser brand, said Thursday that it has registered a fall in its 2022 net profit and exports.
The company said it’s due to Russia’s war in Ukraine and high inflation driven by soaring energy prices.
Budejovicky Budvar NP, a 127-year-old state-owned brewery, said its net profit in 2022 reached almost 201 million Czech crowns ($9.3 million) — more than 40% down from the previous year.
Exports were down by 4%, said the company, which sells its beer in some 70 countries. Budvar halted exports to Russia and Belarus following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which started in February last year.
Exports to some other markets, such as Britain, Slovakia, Austria, Italy Spain or Canada, went up, it said. Budvar also registered a fall in its output by 1.2%, to 1.78 million hectoliters (47 million gallons).
Budvar and Anheuser-Busch have been in a trademark dispute over the Budweiser brand since 1906. Anheuser-Busch joined AB InBev in 2008.
Budvar holds exclusive rights to sell Budweiser beer on most major European markets, including Germany. But in the United Kingdom, both Budvar and AB InBev can sell Budweiser after a court ruled that consumers can tell the difference between the two.
AB InBev is a much larger brewing company.
