The maker of Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois said the virus had led to a significant decline in demand in China - both at bars and drinking at home, notably during the Chinese New Year.

AB InBev is the latest drinks company to warn that the epidemic is taking a toll on business as bars and restaurants shut following Diageo's alert on Wednesday that the fast-spreading virus in greater China and the Asia Pacific region could impact up to $260 million off its profit in 2020.

The Belgium-based company, which sells more Budweiser in China than in the lager's key U.S. market, said the outbreak knocked up to $285 million off its revenue in China in the first two months of this year, 2.3% of its first-quarter group revenue last year.

"Our performance in 2019 was below our expectations, and we are not satisfied with the results," the company said in a statement.

The outbreak, along with an expected weaker Brazilian market, could lead to a 10% drop in first-quarter core profit (EBITDA) on-year, AB InBev said, adding that it expected 2020 core profit growth of between 2% and 5%, with most expansion occurring in the second half.

The company's fourth-quarter core profit declined 5.5% to $5.34 billion (4.14 billion pounds),worse than market expectations of a 1.9% drop.

Profit from both key markets - the United States and Brazil - dropped after AB InBev had oversupplied wholesales to the former earlier in the year, while higher costs for commodities and a weaker Brazilian real dented sales in the Latin American country.

(Reporting by Marine Strauss; Editing by Philip Blenkinsop and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)