The World Cup and the hot summer have helped beer giant AB InBev to an impressive hike in half-year sales.

Volume sales jumped 18.6% in the first quarter of the year and by 11.4% over the first six months. AB InBev said the growth was driven by strong sales of Budweiser, the official beer of the FIFA World Cup.

UK president Stuart MacFarlane said the beer market remained challenging but hailed the uplift in sales as “a fantastic result”. He also singled out the performance of Budweiser.

“Looking at half-year performance as compared with the same period last year, Budweiser has grown volumes by over 70% – an excellent result,” MacFarlane said.

AB InBev’s global volumes rose 1.5% over the six-month period.

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