SAO PAULO, May 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Companhia de Bebidas das Americas - AmBev (BOVESPA: AMBV4, AMBV3; and NYSE: ABV, ABVc), announces today its results for the 2009 first quarter (Q1 2009). The following financial and operating information, unless otherwise indicated, is presented in nominal Reais and prepared in accordance with International Financial and Reporting Standards (IFRS), and should be read in conjunction with our quarterly financial information for the three months period ended March 31, 2009 filed with the CVM and submitted to the SEC. This press release segregates the impact of organic changes from those arising from changes in scope or currency translation. Scopes represent the impact of acquisitions and divestitures and the start-up or termination of activities. Whenever used in this document, the term "normalized" refers to performance measures (EBITDA, EBIT, Net income, EPS) before non-recurring items. Non-recurring items are either income or expenses which do not occur regularly as part of the normal activities of the company. They are presented separately because they are important for the understanding of the underlying sustainable performance of the company due to their size or nature. Normalized measures are additional measures used by management, and should not replace the measures determined in accordance with IFRS as an indicator of the Company's performance. Comparisons, unless otherwise stated, refer to the first quarter of 2008 (Q1 2008). Values in this release may not add up due to rounding. OPERATING AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS Top line: Top line growth of +10.7% was driven by volume growth and price increases across our regions. Our volumes increased organically by 5.1% in Q1 2009 driven primarily by Beer Brazil (+7.6%) and CSD & Nanc Brazil (+12.6%), partly offset by flattish volumes in Quinsa and negative volume growth in Canada and Hila-Ex. Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) and Selling, General & Administrative (SG&A) expenses: COGS per hectoliter increased by 1.5% in the quarter as expected gains on currency hedges and lower commodity prices (mainly PET and corn) together with an easy comparison from Q1 2008 offset inflation in the period. SG&A (excl. depreciation & amortization) increased organically by 5.9% as a result of carry over impact from our increase in direct distribution, higher volumes and inflation in the period. Normalized EBITDA and EBITDA Margin: Our Normalized EBITDA reached R$2,582.9 million in Q1 2009, which represents an organic growth of +16.3%. Our Normalized EBITDA margin increased organically by 240 bps in the first quarter to 45.7%. Normalized Net income and Operating Cash Flow: Normalized Net income was R$1,395.2 million in Q1 2009 (an increase of +13.9% yoy). Normalized Earnings per share (EPS) increased +13.5% in Q1 2009. Operating cash flow was R$1,568.9 million in Q1 2009, which represents an increase of +84.9% in the period. Payout and Financial Discipline: In Q1 2009, we paid interest on own capital (IOC) totaling around R$263 million and declared additional IOC of around R$265 million, which will be paid beginning May 29, 2009. There were no share buybacks in the quarter. Financial Highlights - AmBev Consolidated % As % R$ million 1Q08 1Q09 Reported Organic Total volumes 35,784.8 37,268.2 4.1% 5.1% Beer 25,557.7 26,314.9 3.0% 4.1% CSD and NANC 10,227.1 10,953.3 7.1% 7.4% Net sales 4,833.4 5,655.7 17.0% 10.7% Gross profit 3,164.1 3,758.5 18.8% 12.8% Gross margin 65.5% 66.5% 100 bps 140 bps EBITDA 2,102.8 2,800.3 33.2% 27.0% EBITDA margin 43.5% 49.5% 600 bps 660 bps Normalized EBITDA 2,107.4 2,582.9 22.6% 16.3% Normalized EBITDA margin 43.6% 45.7% 210 bps 240 bps Net Income 1,219.8 1,612.6 32.2% Normalized Net Income 1,224.5 1,395.2 13.9% No. of share outstanding (millions) 611.6 613.9 EPS (R$/shares) 1.99 2.63 31.7% Normalized EPS 2.00 2.27 13.5% % As % R$ million YTD 08 YTD 09 Reported Organic Total volumes 35,784.8 37,268.2 4.1% 5.1% Beer 25,557.7 26,314.9 3.0% 4.1% CSD and NANC 10,227.1 10,953.3 7.1% 7.4% Net sales 4,833.4 5,655.7 17.0% 10.7% Gross profit 3,164.1 3,758.5 18.8% 12.8% Gross margin 65.5% 66.5% 100 bps 140 bps EBITDA 2,102.8 2,800.3 33.2% 27.0% EBITDA margin 43.5% 49.5% 600 bps 660 bps Normalized EBITDA 2,107.4 2,582.9 22.6% 16.3% Normalized EBITDA margin 43.6% 45.7% 210 bps 240 bps Net Income 1,219.8 1,612.6 32.2% Normalized Net Income 1,224.5 1,395.2 13.9% No. of share outstanding (millions) 611.6 613.9 EPS (R$/shares) 1.99 2.63 31.7% Normalized EPS 2.00 2.27 13.5% DATASOURCE: AmBev CONTACT: Myriam Bado, Investor Relations, AmBev, +551121221414 Web Site: http://www.ambev-ir.com/

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