(Yicai) Feb. 26 -- Shares of Budweiser Brewing Company APAC climbed after the biggest beer maker by sales in the Asia-Pacific region announced its first chief executive officer change in seven years.

Budweiser APAC [HKG: 1876] surged 10.5 percent to HKD8.66 (USD1.11) in Hong Kong today, after earlier soaring as much as 13.5 percent.

Budweiser APAC’s board of directors appointed Global Supply Chain Operations Chief Cheng Yanjun to succeed Jan Craps as new CEO and co-chairman, effective April 1, the Hong Kong-based company said in an exchange filing today.

Craps will step down after seven years as CEO and co-chairman of Budweiser APAC and depart its parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev after 23 years to pursue other opportunities, Budweiser APAC noted.

Cheng has been working at AB InBev for 29 years. It held positions including chief brewer, production, and management at AB China, CEO of Harbin Group, and vice president of supply and logistics for the APAC region.

Budweiser APAC also released its 2024 earnings report today. The firm’s profit attributable to equity holders shrank 15 percent to USD726 million, and its revenue fell 7 percent to USD6.3 billion last year from the year before.

“2024 was a year with mixed results,” said Craps. “Our geographic footprint partially offset a weak industry and negative channel mix in China, with robust growth and commercial momentum in South Korea and India.”

Sales in the Chinese market declined 12 percent last year, “driven by weak consumer sentiment in a soft industry, with slower traffic and less spending in on-premise channels where our footprint is more pronounced,” Budweiser APAC noted.

This year, the company hopes to achieve growth through an upgraded product portfolio and marketing channel expansion. “In 2025, we have made clear portfolio and channel choices to lead and grow the category, while digitizing our strong route-to-market to drive value creation,” Craps said.

Editor: Futura Costaglione