By Martinne Geller

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Anheuser-Busch Cos Inc (BUD.N: Quote, Profile, Research) reported lower quarterly profit on Wednesday, hurt by falling U.S. demand for beers like Budweiser and Michelob and slimmer profits from its stake in Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo (GMODELOC.MX: Quote, Profile, Research).

But per-share earnings, boosted by a lower share count, rose and matched Wall Street's expectations, according to Reuters Estimates.

The brewer said first-quarter net income fell to $510.9 million from $517.5 million a year before. By contrast, earnings per share rose to 71 cents from 67 cents.

Equity income, or earnings from Anheuser's ownership stakes in foreign brewers such as Modelo and China's Tsingtao (600600.SS: Quote, Profile, Research), fell 21 percent, as higher operating and materials costs squeezed profits at Modelo, which makes Corona beer and is half-owned by Anheuser.

Quarterly net sales rose 6 percent to $4.10 billion.

The St. Louis-based brewer sold 38.5 million barrels of beer in the quarter, up more than 2 percent from 37.6 million barrels a year earlier. The biggest increases involved the international brands and overseas sales.

In Anheuser's home market of the United States, beer volume only rose 0.4 percent, while revenue per barrel rose 2.3 percent following price increases on most products that went into effect in late 2007 and early 2008.

U.S. sales from wholesalers to retailers, a better indicator of consumer demand, were down 0.7 percent. Excluding the impact of imported brands such as Stella Artois and Corona, sales to retailers would have been down 1.4 percent.