FASCINATING SLIDE: Per Capita Beverage Consumption in Chile, Argentina, Spain, USA and Australia, plus Chilean Trend

Every now and then, we may share what we think is a "Fascinating Slide." The below comes from a recent management deck of our Compania Cervecerias Unidas S.A. (CCU), which we briefly mentioned in our happy new year post. Here, we see beverage consumption per capita (in liters) for Chile versus a handful of other countries, including the United States (click to enlarge):


The difference among the countries is striking and worth pondering. The next obvious question is how fast is the gap closing? How fast are the countries/regions moving toward parity?

We can surmise that consumption in developed markets is relatively stable and answer the Chilean component of this question below by sharing one more relevant slide (click to enlarge):


Part of the company's organic growth plan is to ride the gradual increase in per capita beverage consumption in Chile and Argentina over time. Nothing is guaranteed, but the historical record suggests the favorable per capita trend may continue, assuming economic growth in Latin America remains on track. Of course, the macroeconomic and political environment, as well as currency fluctuations, are primary risk factors.

Happy investing,

Jeffrey Walkenhorst
CommonStock$ense

Disclosure: long CCU.

© 2011 Jeffrey Walkenhorst
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