At the start of a conference call to discuss Anheuser-Busch Cos.' recent results, W. Randolph Baker, the chief financial officer, needed to get one point on the record: Yes, the St. Louis brewer's board recently agreed to a takeover by Belgian brewer InBev. But "until the transaction closes," Baker reminded analysts on the call, "A-B continues to operate as a public company on a business-as-usual basis."

Anheuser-Busch's days as an independent company are numbered. InBev's $52 billion buyout is expected to close this year.

Takeover or no takeover, this is summer--and the country's biggest brewer is trying to make a major splash in the crucial beer-selling season.

Anheuser-Busch showed momentum in its key U.S. market in its second quarter, posting higher sales and profit on the strength of increased beer sales and price hikes.

"Anheuser-Busch had a strong second quarter," said Baker.

The two weeks ending July 5 were the best stretch in the company's history. Beer sales to retailers--including InBev's imported brands such as Stella Artois and Beck's--jumped more than 7 percent. The upward trend continued into the current quarter: Anheuser-Busch gained a point of market share at the store level in the last four weeks.

"We are encouraged by the success of our marketing and selling initiatives, and are optimistic concerning the outlook for the remaining summer selling season," Chief Executive August A. Busch IV said in a statement.

The brewer's per-share earnings beat analysts' average predictions. With the buyout looming, however, the results made few waves.

"Overall, it was in line--I don't think there were any big surprises," Edward Jones analyst Jack Russo said of A-B's second quarter. "The industry's doing pretty well."

The company's beer sales in the U.S. rose half a percentage point when measured in barrels but 4.5 percent when measured in dollars. That partly reflected price hikes and consumers drinking more-expensive brews.

For the quarter, the company--which also owns such attractions as the SeaWorld theme parks--got about 71 percent of its net sales from beer sales in the U.S.

Higher costs for energy and commodities such as grain and hops restrained Anheuser-Busch's quarterly profit, which grew less than 2 percent.

PRICE RISES LOOM

In September and October, the company plans to raise prices on about 85 percent of its beer sold in the U.S. to keep ahead of sharply escalating costs for raw materials.

The price increases, now scheduled to take effect sooner than initially planned, are the main way Anheuser-Busch can maintain its profit margins, said research analyst Christopher Shanahan of consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.

Anheuser-Busch's results "show that brewers are still struggling with input costs," wrote Morningstar analyst Ann Gilpin.

With slightly less than 49 percent of the U.S. market, Anheuser-Busch has a strong influence on beer prices. Its plan to raise prices "will be favorable to all competitors in the U.S. beer market," wrote Standard & Poor's analyst Esther Kwon.

This summer appeared to be crucial for Anheuser-Busch even before InBev launched its takeover effort. The company is competing against a recently merged Miller and Coors and trying to build momentum in the U.S. with stepped-up marketing and new products such as Bud Light Lime.