Anheuser-Busch InBev has reported forecast-beating fourth-quarter profits and progress in cutting debts that have hung over the company for a decade, sending its shares up 8 per cent on Wednesday even as China weakness dragged on sales.

The Budweiser brewer reported earnings that beat analysts’ expectations, boosted by higher prices and improvements in the U.S. that offset lingering weakness in China.

AB InBev beat Q4 revenue forecasts with $14.84B in sales, driven by premium beer and non-beer growth, despite a 1.9% decline in volumes.