Welcome to the 2025 First Half Results Announcement Conference Call for Budweiser Brewing Company APAC Limited. Hosting the call today from Budweiser APAC is Mr. YJ Cheng, our Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chair of the Board, and Mr. Ignacio Lares, Chief Financial Officer. The results of the six months ended June 30, 2025, can be found in the press release published earlier today and available on the Hong Kong Stock Exchanges and Budweiser APAC's websites. Before proceeding, let me remind you that some of the information provided during this results call, including our answers to your questions on this call, may contain statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements. These expectations are based on management's current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors beyond our control.
It is possible that Budweiser APAC's actual results and financial condition may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results and financial condition indicated in these forward-looking statements. Budweiser APAC is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any such obligation to, update their forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. For discussion of some of the risks and important factors that could affect Budweiser APAC's future results, refer to the risk factors in the company's prospectus dated 18th September 2019, the 2024 Annual Report published, and any other document that Budweiser APAC has made public. I would also like to remind everyone that the financial figures discussed today are provided in US dollars unless stated otherwise. The percentage changes that will be discussed during today's call are both organic and normalized in nature unless otherwise stated.
percentage changes refer to comparisons with the same period in 2024. Normalized figures refer to performance measures before exception items, which are either income or expenses that do not occur regularly as a part of Budweiser APAC's normal activities. As normalized figures are non-GAAP measures, the company disclosed the consolidated profit, EPS, EBIT, and EBITDA on a fully reported basis in the press release published earlier today. Further details of the 2025 First Half Results can also be found in the press release. It is now my pleasure to pass the time to YJ. Sir, you may begin.
Thank you, Ray. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining the call today. In the first half of 2025, we continue to invest behind our mega-brands in a focused way with disciplined execution to navigate the current challenges and pursue long-term growth. Our business in China was impacted by ongoing weakness in our footprint and in on-premise channels. In South Korea, we continue to outperform across all channels despite a soft industry. In India, we accelerated our growth momentum, with Budweiser growing ahead of the industry. In the second quarter, our volume in China underperformed the industry as we experienced weakness in our key regions and channels. In spite of this softness, we delivered EBITDA margin expansion in China. In South Korea, while we continued to gain market share in both on-premise and in-home channels, our volume was impacted by shipment phasing.
In India, we accelerated our growth momentum as we continue to lead premiumization in this market. I'll now hand it over to Iggy to provide more details on our performance in the first half and second quarter. Thank you.
Thank you, YJ and good morning, everyone. In the first half of 2025, total volumes decreased by 6.1%. Revenue decreased by 5.6%, while revenue per hectoliter increased by 0.5%. Our normalized EBITDA decreased by 8%, while our normalized EBITDA margin contracted by 82 basis points. In the second quarter, total volumes and revenue decreased by 6.2% and 3.9%, respectively. Volumes were impacted by ongoing challenges in China, as well as shipment phasing in South Korea. Revenue per hectoliter increased by 2.4%, driven by a positive brand mix across APAC and revenue management initiatives in APAC East. Our normalized EBITDA decreased by 4.5%, while our normalized EBITDA margin contracted by 21 basis points. Now let me cover some highlights for each market. In APAC West, in the first half, volumes and revenue decreased by 6.9% and 7.1%, respectively, as revenue per hectoliter was flattish. Normalized EBITDA decreased by 8.8%.
In China, volumes in the second quarter decreased by 7.4%, impacted by continued weakness in our footprint and channels. Revenue decreased by 6.4%, while revenue per hectoliter increased by 1.1%, as we benefited from positive brand mix. Normalized EBITDA decreased by 4%, impacted by our top-line performance and a decrease in other operating income, partially offset by cost management initiatives. Our EBITDA margin expanded by 86 basis points. We made further progress in our channel expansion strategy, focused on premiumizing the in-home channel as in-home consumption occasions continue to develop. In the first half of 2025, the contribution of the in-home channel to our volumes and revenue increased. The volume and revenue weights of our premium and super premium portfolio within the in-home channel exceeded the respective weights within the Chinese restaurant channel, driven by our mega-brand efforts.
On Budweiser, we launched the FIFA Club World Cup campaign during the peak summer period, with activations across all channels. The launch event, featuring legendary player Ronaldo, topped social media engagement rankings, including becoming the number one hot topic locally on Douyin. Harbin embarked on its bold Next Gen of Harbin transformation program, focused on sports and hip-hop to transcend traditional marketing boundaries and appeal to Generation Z legal drinking age consumers. By blending holographic designs with its signature three-peak iceberg logo, Harbin's refreshed packaging also showcases the brand's boundless energy and consumer relevance. On the digitization front, the usage and reach of BEES, our B2B wholesaler and customer engagement platform, continued to expand. As of June 2025, BEES was present in more than 320 cities across China. We continue to leverage technology to further enhance our commercial capabilities, optimize our route-to-market, and strengthen our customer relationships.
In India, we delivered double-digit revenue growth and significant EBITDA margin improvement. The Budweiser brand continues to grow ahead of the industry. Moving to APAC East, in the first half, volumes decreased by 0.5%, with revenue and revenue per hectoliter increasing by 0.6% and 1.1%, respectively. Normalized EBITDA decreased by 4.5%, with EBITDA margin contracting by 157 basis points. In the second quarter, volumes in South Korea decreased by high single digits, mainly due to shipment phasing. Revenue decreased by high single digits due to lower volumes, while revenue per hectoliter increased by low single digits, driven by our ongoing revenue management initiatives. In the first half, volumes were flattish as we continued to offset industry weakness by outperforming within the on-premise and in-home channels. From a portfolio perspective, we continue to increase consumer participation through innovation.
In June, we launched Cass Lemon Squeeze 7.0, a new version of our popular Cass Lemon Squeeze product, and unveiled Cass Fresh ICE, a limited summer edition beverage that amplifies the signature crispness of Cass with an intense icy sensation. Likewise, we launched a HANMAC Extra Creamy Draft Can to further enhance drinking experiences through innovative packaging. Finally, we continue to maintain a sound balance sheet in line with our disciplined financial practices and capital allocation priorities. As of the 30th of June 2025, our net cash position was $2.4 billion. YJ and I are here to answer any questions that you may have.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, the floor is now open for questions. Please press star one to ask a question. If you wish to cancel your request, press star two. In the interest of time, we ask participants to limit themselves to two questions, and please ask one question at a time. Our first question is coming from Anne Ling from Jefferies. Please go ahead.
Thank you. Hi, management team. Thank you very much for taking my call. My first question is on China. It is regarding the anti-extravagance act impact. We heard that the anti-extravagance act has a negative impact on the catering business, as we have seen since the end of June. The government catering data also suggests some impact as well for June data. Could you comment on its impact on the industry spree of volume in the third quarter to date? Is Budweiser APAC having more or less impact on the back of this? Thank you.
Thank you, Ann. This is YJ. I will take these questions. First, we cannot speak for the industry. However, we did see a slowdown in the Chinese restaurant channel in quarter two. We also see a great impact in the provinces where we have more coverage of restaurants. The observation we had of this channel slowdown has continued into the start of quarter three. For the year to go, we're going to continue to focus on what we can control. First, we're going to continue investing more in our mega-brands like Budweiser and Harbin. We also focus on expanding the in-home channel and enhancing our route execution. We remain agile in both commercial investment and inventory management. Thanks for your question.
Thank you. Thank you, YJ a nd my second question is on South Korea customs and also the Taiwan anti-dumping update. Would you update us on the status of the two recent events? First, on South Korea's customs tax dispute, which was first reported in fiscal year 2024. Recently, we have another update at the end of June, right? The second one is on the impact from the anti-dumping duties in China for the coming fourth month, starting from early July this year. We understand that both are not big events, but definitely would love to hear your comment on these two. Thank you.
I would like to hand over this question to Iggy . Go ahead.
Thank you, YJ. Thanks for the question, Anne. I guess in the Korea customs tax update first, the dispute is ongoing. You are correct that during the year ended 31st of December 2023, in South Korea, we recorded a $66 million non-underlying charge relating to a customs audit claim. We reported that, of course, during our full year 2023 earnings. That claim is being contested. As of June 30, 2025, we still continue to defend against the customs tax dispute, which, as we mentioned in the past, will need to play out through the corresponding legal system. This can be a lengthy multi-year process. There are no additional news since the update we provided on 30th of June . From a financial perspective, we did share that the potential penalty exposure was not expected to be material to the company at that time.
Most importantly, as always, we intend to continue to vigorously defend the matter as we have until now. We remain committed to upholding the highest standards of compliance across all of our operations. That's on the Korea customs tax portion. When we speak about Taiwan, frankly, it's a bit early to tell what the impact will be. We're closely following the situation. As you're aware, there's an interim ruling in place and we continue monitoring for any final determination in the months to come. As you can imagine, we value the Taiwan market. Therefore, our priority is ensuring that our customers and our consumers continue to have full access without any disruption to the portfolio of beers that they're accustomed to having access to. We will continue to carefully consider any actions that we can take to mitigate any impact to our wholesalers and to our local consumers as well.
It's too early to have a full view on impact at this point, Anne. Thank you for your question.
Got it. Thank you so much. Thank you, Iggy.
Thank you. Our next question is coming from Lillian Lou from Morgan Stanley. Your line is open. Please go ahead.
Thank you very much, YJ and Iggy I also have two questions. Both are on China. I will ask the first one first. It's on China inventory destocking process. How is it going so far? When we expect it will complete? Related to that, the destocking process, how we look at this sales growth outlook in China for the second half? Thank you.
Yeah, I can take that question, Lillian. Thank you for the question, and good morning. First, maybe on the inventory side, if we take a step back and recap the inventory management progress we've had since last year, I think it makes it easier to see how this is unfolding. Last year, in 2024, in the second quarter, we had increased our inventory in preparation for the summer season, as we usually would. People expected a market recovery, and thus, at the time, our SDWs, right, our sales to wholesalers, outpaced our sales to retailers as we built inventory for the summer. However, unfortunately, as the industry was softer than people expected, we ended up with a higher inventory position than desired.
Since the tail end of the summer last year, around September, October onwards through to the first half of this year, both first and second quarter, we've been proactively taking steps to adjust our inventory to the current business environment and, of course, ensure that the health of our route-to-market is maintained. Our inventory level this year, second quarter 2025, is actually lower than in the same period of last year, both in terms of absolute inventory and also days of inventory. We would actually expect it to be significantly lower than the industry average as well. As mentioned by YJ earlier, the on-premise channel has been disproportionately impacted at the end of the second quarter. Frankly speaking, we expect, at least based on July data, that this impact will continue into the second half of the year as well.
Accordingly, we're going to continue to manage our inventory very attentively in the third quarter. You would then, of course, expect a more normalized base as we reach the end of the year, given in the fourth quarter we will be lapping inventory reductions from last year. I hope that answers your question, Lillian.
Thanks a lot, Iggy That's very clear. My second question is about the channel. As YJ's opening remark, also your opening remark mentioned that in the first half, premium and super premium mix in the in-home channel is already higher than its mix in the restaurant channel. We did expand quite a lot in the in-home. How's the progress or the penetration level of in-home for the whole business in the first half? Also, what's the plan for further expansion in the second half? Thank you.
Yeah, so I mean, I think with increasing disposable income and market maturity evolving in China, the premiumization trend of the in-home channel should offer and should continue to offer, right, a massive opportunity for us to further expand our business. If you think about it today, the off-trade or the in-home channel in China is roughly 60% of the industry, but it only accounts for a little bit more than half of our channel mix, right? We have an opportunity to expand our presence both closer to the industry average. We also know, as we've discussed in the past, that the in-home channel will continue to grow, right, its share of industry as the market continues to mature. There are maybe two angles in which we can look at our progress on in-home penetration thus far. I think there's the brand and portfolio perspective.
There, if you look at retail overall, it's essential to have a full portfolio, right? You need more packs at each price point to fulfill different consumer needs, the nature of the channel. Obviously, the brand power of our portfolio is a priority, and it's very high, which offers us the potential for premiumization. That's also contributing, as you mentioned, right, to premium and super premium weight in the channel going up. We have solid commercial plans here, and we'll continue to invest behind the mega-brands and the strong mega-platforms because both are proven, right, to drive value. It's also going to be important for us to make progress on the right packs, right, to ensure we have magical price points covered, etc.
Probably the biggest remaining opportunity on a portfolio side is to increase our share of CorePlus and CorePlus+ , which are particularly relevant as a segment in the in-home. When I look at it from a route-to-market perspective, the key here for a successful in-home expansion is developing a high-quality distribution network. It's as simple as that. You need to cover more POCs in the right way. We have been expanding our route to market, both wider and deeper, actually even in geographies where we're well established. That includes developing new tier one and tier two wholesalers, which of course helps us to expand to more points of sale. However, that's going to take time.
There is both the recruitment and the capability building, right, that's required to ensure we have a picture of success, not just product in the store, but a picture of success in every in-home point of sale that we target. The teams are quite encouraged, actually, with some of the progress. The contribution of the in-home channel to our total volume continues to go up. To our total revenue continues to go up as well. The premium and super premium mix in the channel continues to go up. The fact that it's higher than Chinese restaurants is also encouraging. I think we're at a place where I would say there's a clear plan in place today. We see some progress on various portfolio and route-to-market areas, but there's still a lot of work to be done.
The focus will be on consistent execution on the strategy in the quarters to come. Thanks for the question.
Thanks a lot, YJ .
Thank you. Our next question is coming from Euan Mcleish from Bernstein. Please go ahead.
Hi, good morning, YJ. Hi, Iggy I've only got one question. I wanted to focus on Guangdong, please, which is such an important province for you. The data that we're looking at shows kind of monthly improvements in in-home consumption in Guangdong, but it seems that you've been losing quite a bit of share in that channel. At the same time, the data shows restaurant channel remaining weak, as you've referred to. I just wanted to understand what's working and what's not working for you in Guangdong. How are you trying to turn around your momentum in the province? It would be really helpful if you could talk a bit about the nature of competition, what's happening on the ground, as well as your main street, your CorePlus +, and your Budweiser strategies there. Thanks. Thank you.
Thank you for the question, Yuan. A lot to chew there. Let me try and break this up into a few parts. As we're all well aware, Guangdong is the largest profit pool in China's beer industry. It is naturally, obviously, very competitive, always has been. We expect it will continue to be the case, right? Everyone wants to participate and capture some of that premiumization opportunity. From a channel perspective, as we were mentioning earlier, yes, the restaurant channel remains weak. However, if you look at the depth of our distribution in the channel and the strength of our portfolio, it probably explains why maybe some of that data you have, which I don't have access to, could suggest that we're performing well. Historically, we have over-indexed, right, in the on-premise channel in Guangdong, as you're well aware. We built our brand power there.
Naturally, we have a stronger base there. The focus for us is really on accelerating the expansion of our coverage in the in-home channel. We've been developing that high-quality distribution network I was mentioning a second ago to cover more POCs in what we call a qualified way. That means right picture of success, right execution, so that it's sustainable, right? That takes time. We're seeing some acceleration in both the rate of premiumization of the in-home channel. This happens when we leverage the full brand portfolio, the full pack assortment with good execution. We do see a difference when that takes place. We just need to accelerate the coverage, right, at that level of execution. To do that, we're investing with our wholesalers, together with them to increase the number and capability of our in-home sales force.
We have more specialized sales representatives, individuals that have the capabilities to execute, right, the picture of success in trade. That will include shelf management and store displays, all the traditional things, right, that you see in the in-home channel. In the areas where the route-to-market is less developed, we're recruiting, as I was mentioning before, more tier one and tier two wholesalers with the right capabilities. We need to do that, right, to get to more POCs at a faster rate. That's a bit the name of the game in in-home for us. At the end of the day, we remain committed to investing and growing the business in Guangdong. We're doing that in a sustainable way for the long term, right? This plays a critical partner strategy long term. There's always decisions to fine-tune.
However, I would say for the most part, the teams have clarity on the portfolio choices and channel priorities, which is essential. It's mainly a matter of execution at this point, right? To your point on portfolio, Budweiser continues to be the number one priority. We're also allocating more resources to both CorePlus and CorePlus+ in response to the current consumption environment. That's probably the most competitive space, if you think about it, within the in-home. Based on our observations, we're seeing that this segment continues to outperform other subsegments. We need to be strong there. We're looking to accelerate our distribution so that we get to scale, right, in CorePlus+ .
Beyond that, I mean, we'll continue to selectively invest behind super premium as well in the right places, particularly in the more developed cities and sub-channels within Guangdong, as we continue to see this as part of the portfolio. It can play a key role there as well. That's a bit of the kind of context on Guangdong today, Euan. Thanks so much for the question.
Okay. Can I just clarify a little bit? In terms of losing the share in the in-home channel, is that because you're in the wrong geographies and these geographies that you're not strong in are growing faster, or is this something that's happening within geographies in which you're already present?
No, the fastest growing channel in Guangdong by far is the in-home, right? We're under-indexed. Expansion, right, number of POCs and execution in the in-home is growing for all participants in the industry. We need to accelerate within our existing geographies, Yuan, to more points of sale with a full portfolio. That's essentially the priority for the teams there.
Great. Thanks for clarifying.
Most welcome. Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question is coming from Chen Luo from BFFA. Please go ahead.
Hey, YJ . and Iggy . This is Chen from Bank of America. My questions have been partly addressed by the previous speakers, but I still like to get additional color. First of all, in China, we understand that the anti-extravagance campaign recently and our over-index exposure to the on-premise channel, as well as destocking, may have some impact on the second half. Given all the pressure, is it fair to say that our volume in China in Q3 will still face some challenges? We can only achieve positive volume growth from Q4 this year due to extremely easy comps. This is my first question. Thank you.
Thank you so much for the question. No, it's a fair view. Maybe how I would characterize it is in the first half, given this, consumption environment was still soft, particularly in the on-premise channel, and overall consumer confidence remains low. That's why you see the softness, right, in our footprint and channels. At the end of the day, given we continue to have a geographic footprint and channel weight market share headwind, we need to find continuous improvement in our like-for-like performance to offset it. If you layer on top of that, of course, the recent softness, right, of the Chinese restaurants and on-premise. From a policy perspective and the inventory management that I discussed earlier, you should still expect some volume headwinds, right, through the third quarter as well. The fourth quarter will have easier comps.
Both the ongoing on-premise channel softness will at least be partially offset by the more normal base. That makes sense, right? Because if you think about it, we started the inventory management with scale during the same period last year. We'll be lapping, as you mentioned, a softer or an easier base. Within that context, going back to YJ' s comments at the start of the call, what we've asked the teams to do is to continue to focus on the factors within their control. Enhancing execution of the mega-brands, expanding, right, the distribution and coverage in the in-home channel, and accelerating the speed of premiumization within the in-home channel. The faster and the better we execute those three elements in the months to come, the sooner you will see an improvement in trend, as it'll help us to offset the geographic and channel mix headwinds as well.
I hope that answers your question.
Sure. Thank you, Iggy. The second question is about the CorePlus segment in China. It appears that this segment is actually performing weaker than our premium segment, such as the Budweiser brand. Within the CorePlus segment, Harbin has been a key brand. I understand that we are also focusing on the mega-brand this year. Based on the channel checks, we think that our CorePlus segment is facing big competition pressure from local brands such as Yanjing on a nationwide basis and also from Zhujiang and Lichuan in Guangdong specifically. Is there any measure for us to improve our CorePlus segment so that we can actually counter the macro pressure and start to see improvement momentum going forward? Thank you.
Thank you for the question. Look, at the end of the day, CorePlus and CorePlus+ is indeed an important segment for us, right, particularly in the in-home, as I was mentioning before. We have a large distribution opportunity to fill. Today, this is a priority we're looking to capture. In the in-home channel, to do this, you need the brand fundamentals, right, for success to be working in the right way. The first one is brand power. Consumers obviously play a larger role in choosing what they consume in the in-home channel, so brand power becomes more relevant, right? We've built brand power, or the brand power of the total portfolio, to have significant potential to drive both share and premiumization. However, to your point, we're further ahead on that, Lu Chen, on Budweiser, right?
We had very strong campaigns at the start of the year, big investment focus, big priority, as we mentioned, number one priority. We need to do the same on Harbin Ice's variants, including Harbin ICGD zero sugar, which is still on a relative basis in its development phase, right? I think the recipe there is very clear, and it's doing more of that. Product superiority, similarly, right? We use the core superiority framework we've discussed in the past to make sure we have the best liquid, the best package, the best communications for our brands to ensure we have a winning proposition. Here, we just further enhanced actually the visual brand identity and the liquid of Harbin, and that's freshly in the market, right, since May. You will have to wait for a few months probably to see the impact, but we're quite pleased with how this tested.
We're quite pleased with how this has gone to market, and this should help to increase the relevance of the brand, particularly among younger adult consumers. On the assortment side, right, you also need a broader brand and pack assortment that would generally be available in the on-premise channels. Our opportunity here would be to also expand the distribution of this broader assortment for both CorePlus and CorePlus+ to fulfill different consumer needs, and the teams are working on that as we speak. Innovations can play an interesting role as well. To your point, there's very local-specific competition, particularly as you move down into the CorePlus segment. We have some local brand innovation opportunities. Nothing to discuss today, but as you can imagine, a solid innovation pipeline also supports the different regions in a tailored way for local consumer needs. It can be quite complementary to our strategy.
All of this will need to be supported by our expanding of the in-home coverage and distribution. Yeah, lots of work to do, but we're committed to the brands, and we're excited about their growth potential based on some of the green shoots we're seeing with some of the initiatives in market. That's a bit the summary, I think, on the CorePlus. I hope that answers your question.
Yeah, that's very helpful. It seems that we have a very good action plan and playbook. I understand there's a lot to do, and we may still be in the early stage of the journey. We definitely look forward to more achievements and milestones to be made in the future. Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you. Our next question is coming from Christine Peng from UBS. Please go ahead.
Thank you. I have two questions. One is for Korea, and another one is for Indian market. I'll read those questions one by one. The first question is about the Korean margin outlook. Given the sluggish industry volume trends in South Korean market, what will be the margin outlook in future?
I'll take that one. Thanks for the question, Christine. In the first half, our volumes were flattish. The narrative would be that we've continued to outperform from a commercial perspective to offset that industry weakness you were mentioning. The main drivers of margin growth in APAC East continue to be, first and foremost, price, then operational efficiencies, and then mix. On pricing, we recently announced, of course, a 2.9% price increase for our core brands from April of this year. That obviously didn't kick in until the second quarter, and that explains why you see a stronger net revenue per hectoliter performance and the margin contribution of that in the second quarter versus the first quarter. In terms of operational efficiencies, we continue to implement the cost management initiatives that we have across our business.
We see this as a core capability, so we wouldn't expect any change in the ways that teams execute that. Lastly, on the mix side, we anticipate the industry will continue to premiumize. It's still significantly under-indexed versus other mature markets. We're very well positioned to capture an outsized portion of that growth with our comprehensive portfolio of premium brands. Over time, with the differentiation in pricing that we've been creating by taking more price on the high-end portfolio than we do on mainstream, we see an opportunity for that to drive a long-term mix benefit. On top of that, probably what's new, which is also beneficial, is we continue to focus on increasing consumer participation. These introductions of non-alcoholic beers and some of these other innovations help to bring more consumers into the beer category overall.
That should also serve as a tailwind in the future, particularly as consumer confidence improves in Korea. On this basis, longer term, we don't see any barriers for future margin recovery. In fact, if I go back to the views that we shared during our investor day in Korea back in late 2022, where you recall we saw this underlying structural margin tailwind from these growth drivers, our view still holds today. We continue to see growing market share and top line as the critical drivers to expand our EBITDA margin, even in a soft industry. We're confident with the strategy. We're confident with commercial capabilities, which position us for future sustainable growth. We just need to continue down that path. Thank you very much for the question, Christine.
Thank you, Iggy. My second question is about India market. Can management share with us the latest trends for India market in terms of volume growth, mix, and profitability?
Maybe let me give a bit of color on India. In India, we are focused on consistent and sustainable top line growth. That's the priority, right? That needs to then translate into EBITDA and cash flow growth for us as well. Our India business has strong growth momentum. The premium and super premium portfolio there, which is roughly two-thirds of our total business, grew by double digits, both in the quarter and in the first half of the year. The Budweiser brand continues to grow ahead of the industry. That's really important, right? That's kind of what underpins the growth in India. Premiumization continues to be a very important driver for the business and for EBITDA performance. We delivered strong results with double-digit revenue growth and significant EBITDA margin improvement in the quarter. Yes, we had a softer base in the second quarter, to be fair.
However, we see the benefit of the strong premium growth translating into our quarterly results and moving the needle. In terms of industry overall, it continues to grow, which is also helpful. The per capita consumption is still very low in India, as you're well aware. The industry is expected to continue growing both in volume and revenue terms. That's even before we consider the impact of any moderation initiatives, right, which can unlock an even more exciting future for the India market. Moderation specifically, we're seeing several states recognizing beer as a drink of moderation, reflecting that in their policies. That can mean either more access to beer or taxes being either raised less than for other higher alcohol categories or not raised at all. We've got a few examples actually in the last few months. Uttar Pradesh, for example, roughly doubled its number of outlets.
Now there's about 13,000 outlets that can sell beer there, which is quite a significant increase when you think about all of India has maybe 80,000- 90,000 licenses today. Low alcohol bar retail events, which are allowed to serve both beer and wine, are now allowed and introduced in a few key cities like Lucknow. In Madhya Pradesh, we've actually also seen some positive changes for both excise as well as beer distribution. We're seeing progress on the moderation agenda as well. The last one, which is fully under our control, is on productivity, right? This will be an important driver, as we've mentioned in the past, for EBITDA margin. Our supply chain teams are making continued progress. They are benchmarking our breweries there against the best-in-class small breweries that we have in China, and we see very good progress on the initiatives that they are putting in place.
That will play a very critical role in making sure that top line growth translates to bottom line and cash as well. We had a stronger quarter in the second quarter in India, and we're pleased with the progress. The teams have a lot of work to continue down that path as well. Thank you so much for the question, Christine.
Thank you, Yanjun, for answering my questions.
You're very welcome.
Thank you. Our next question is coming from Linda Huang from Macquarie. Please go ahead.
Thank you very much, management. I have two questions. The first one is regarding financial. I noticed that there is $53 million, this is the underlying income tax. Can you help us to understand what this underlying income tax is about? Will there be any further impact on the company's financials? That's my first question.
Thank you for the question, Linda, and good afternoon. When we think about long-term value creation at Budweiser APAC, optimizing our capital structure is always an area of focus. Specifically, in the second quarter, we performed an internal restructuring. That's what drove the $53 million in capital gains and withholding taxes on distributed earnings. The financial impacts were undertaken in the second quarter, which is why we reflected them accordingly in non-underlying income tax, since essentially they're outside of regular operational activities, right? The impact is contained or condensed within the second quarter. The thought process behind this is the benefit from this transaction is the opportunity for us to have more efficient deployment of cash, which can include, among other things, interest income arbitrage. We did a bit of an internal restructuring here, and that's what drove that transaction. I hope that answers your question, Linda.
The second question may be related to your deployment of the cash more efficiently. I think, especially for your previous announcement, investors highly appreciate the company's generosity to pay the $5.660. This is U.S. dollar DPS. Even the earnings declined in 2024. I remember in the announcement, management also mentioned that to sustain or grow the dividend payout amount. Can we say that this $5.66 dividend per share can be well expected, given that 2025 earnings look likely to be challenging?
Thanks for the tough question, Linda. You're painting me into a corner here. Maybe let me take this dive at it. Look, we continue to focus on maximizing value for our shareholders. This, of course, includes providing a competitive dividend as well. At the time of the IPO, when we shared our dividend policy, it was to maintain at least 25% as a dividend payout. Of course, since the IPO, our dividend payout ratio has always been higher than that commitment. We've been increasing, obviously, the dividend amount in absolute dollars steadily year over year since the IPO. You're right that the most recent payout was $750 million, or $5.66 per share. We still continue to aspire to maintain or grow our absolute total dividend amount. The logic holds, right? We plan to do that over time while maintaining, of course, a solid balance sheet for future growth.
That's a bit the intent still, despite the current, call it business pressure. We're still very confident of our future cash flow generation capabilities, right, for the business, as well as the ability to fund the different capital allocation priorities we have. Still organic growth, complemented by strategic and organic opportunities. Of course, still returning cash to shareholders where possible is appropriate as well. I think that still holds, Linda, and hopefully, that answers your question.
Okay. Okay. I got it very clear. Thank you very much.
You're most welcome. Thank you.
Thank you. In terms of time, our final questions will come from Leif Leo from Agoop Manfax. Please go ahead.
Thanks, Vlad, YJ and Iggy . Thanks for taking my questions. I got two questions. The first is on Korea. Would you please share color on the market share strategy following the pricing hike? Also, how have the Korean consumers received the pricing hike so far, and what is the response from our competitors? How do you look at the marketing investment level in Korea going forward? Thank you so much.
I would like to have Iggy to this question. If you have a second one, I'll take it.
Sounds good. No, thank you, YJ . Thanks for the question, Leif. On pricing, we always make decisions in a greater context, right? We look at the macroeconomic environment, the strength of the portfolio, the competitive landscape. This is a constant process the teams have undertaken with a disciplined approach for a long time. You can count on us to continue to do that. The most recent announcement was a 2.9% price increase for our core brands as of April this year. Regarding the price pass-through, please recall that an increase in a factory price doesn't necessarily lead to an increase in on-premise market prices, right? At the end of the day, the final retail price is determined, rather, by the voluntary judgment of each business. So far, if we look at the market there, this is in line with our expectations.
Most importantly, I think the business needs to be in a good place to be able to make these decisions in the first place, right? The brand power of our core portfolio is the strongest it has ever been. It's been complemented by a very strong innovation pipeline as well, with Cass 0.0, Cass Lemon Squeeze, of which we have multiple variants now in the market as well, and most recently, the HANMAC Extra Creamy Draft Can. In June, we launched Cass Lemon Squeeze 7.0, which is another version of the popular Cass Lemon Squeeze family of products. This was timed to capitalize on the demand for premium and higher proof beverages during the summer, right? We're quite pleased with that. We recently also unveiled Cass Fresh ICE.
This is a limited edition summer variant that amplifies the kind of signature easy drinking crispness of Cass by giving you an icy sensation. I encourage you to try it the next time you're in South Korea. We're also pleased with the halo effect that will have on the Cass mother brand. Probably the third big innovation was we also looked at innovative ways to have packaging enhance the drinking experience. The HANMAC Extra Creamy Draft Can does exactly that. It's designed to generate the kind of bubble formation that you have in a poured draft beer. From the moment you open it, you get this rich, creamy head that delivers that texture, smoothness, and taste you expect from draft beer. Effectively, what we continue to do is invest in innovations with strong marketing plans in South Korea. We're very pleased with the commercial momentum that the team has there.
They need to continue doing that as they have thus far. That's really what underpins our ability to execute revenue management initiatives within the market. We're in a good place, and things are progressing as they're expected from a commercial perspective, Leif.
Thanks, Iggy. Indeed, the new products were pretty impressive while I had the privilege to taste them. Thank you so much. My second question, thank you. The second question is on China's in-home channel development. Actually, for the partnership with Square, is there any progress that you can share with us in terms of the in-home distribution and any plan for the other white space regions under the umbrella of partnership with Square? Thank you.
Yeah, as I said, I'm going to take this question. Leif, first, I will say we carefully assess any opportunities. Route-to-market partnership to extend our distribution. Regarding the cooperation or partnership with Square, we picked Anhui and Hubei, two provinces, as a trial in the past half year and one year. According to the latest Nielsen data, in the second quarter of 2025, we continue to grow the market share in the in-home channel in these two provinces in order to be strong. I just want to share, I just met the Square APAC management last week in Hong Kong. I see the excitement with our portfolio and also their commitment to grow the business with us. This partnership with Square between us has the potential to drive the top line and translate into a meaningful financial benefit for both.
At this moment, I have nothing to announce regarding further expansion, but we will continue to monitor the program we work together. We will explore further expansion opportunities, if any, later. Thank you.
Sure. Thanks, a lot YJ . Thank you.
Thank you.
This concludes our Q&A session today. I would like to turn the conference back over to Yanjun Cheng for the closing remarks.
Thank you, Ray. As the second half of the year evolves, we continue to invest behind our mega-brands in a focused way. With disciplined execution, we overcome challenges and pursue long-term growth. Thank you all for joining us today. I look forward to speaking to you again soon.
This concludes today's results call. Please disconnect your line. Thank you.