(Alliance News) - Dutch brewer Heineken NV said on Wednesday its beer sales were up in the first quarter of 2024, but saw a "challenging and uncertain" economic outlook and could not guarantee the same growth for the rest of the year.
Global beer volume sold rose by 4.7% in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2023, said Heineken, the world's second-biggest brewer after AB InBev.
The growth was driven by volumes in Asia-Pacific, which enjoyed 9.4% growth, offsetting slower growth in Europe of 1.6%.
The group's other brands include Amstel, Sol, Tiger and Birra Moretti.
Heineken Chief Executive Dolf van den Brink saw an "encouraging" start to 2024, which was boosted by an early Easter holiday.
"We continue to see the economic environment as challenging and uncertain, and will remain agile and focused," he said.
Despite what the firm described as a "solid" start to the year, it warned "we cannot extrapolate the reported top-line growth to the rest of the year."
The brewer left its profit forecasts unchanged for the year, with operating profit predicted at "low-to-high single digits" and net profit lower than that.
Heineken no longer publishes quarterly net profit figures, unveiling these only in half-year or full-year reports.
Aarin Chiekrie, an analyst from Hargreaves Lansdown, said the results "finally gave the group something to raise a glass to."
"Total beer volumes were much better than the market expected, meaning that growth on the top line came from a much healthier mix of both price and volume this quarter," added Chiekrie.
Shares in Heineken were up 0.3% to EUR90.98 each in Amsterdam on Wednesday afternoon.
Heineken's annual report in February showed a drop in profits and beer volumes sold over 2023.
The firm's 2023 net profit came in at 2.3 billion euros (USD2.4 billion) compared to the 2.7 billion euros it made the year before.
Overall beer sales in 2023 dipped by 4.7%, with 60% of that decline driven by sharp falls in Nigeria and Vietnam, according to the firm.
It said its business last year had been impacted by "unprecedented levels of commodity and energy inflation" and expected the economic environment would remain "a factor of uncertainty" this year as well.
source: AFP
Copyright 2024, Alliance News
Heineken beer sales pop in first quarter but hazy days ahead
(Alliance News) - Dutch brewer Heineken NV said on Wednesday its beer sales were up in the first quarter of 2024, but saw a "challenging and uncertain" economic outlook and could not guarantee the same growth for the rest of the year.
Global beer volume sold rose by 4.7% in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2023, said Heineken, the world's second-biggest brewer after AB InBev.
The growth was driven by volumes in Asia-Pacific, which enjoyed 9.4% growth, offsetting slower growth in Europe of 1.6%.
The group's other brands include Amstel, Sol, Tiger and Birra Moretti.
Heineken Chief Executive Dolf van den Brink saw an "encouraging" start to 2024, which was boosted by an early Easter holiday.
"We continue to see the economic environment as challenging and uncertain, and will remain agile and focused," he said.
Despite what the firm described as a "solid" start to the year, it warned "we cannot extrapolate the reported top-line growth to the rest of the year."
The brewer left its profit forecasts unchanged for the year, with operating profit predicted at "low-to-high single digits" and net profit lower than that.
Heineken no longer publishes quarterly net profit figures, unveiling these only in half-year or full-year reports.
Aarin Chiekrie, an analyst from Hargreaves Lansdown, said the results "finally gave the group something to raise a glass to."
"Total beer volumes were much better than the market expected, meaning that growth on the top line came from a much healthier mix of both price and volume this quarter," added Chiekrie.
Shares in Heineken were up 0.3% to EUR90.98 each in Amsterdam on Wednesday afternoon.
Heineken's annual report in February showed a drop in profits and beer volumes sold over 2023.
The firm's 2023 net profit came in at 2.3 billion euros (USD2.4 billion) compared to the 2.7 billion euros it made the year before.
Overall beer sales in 2023 dipped by 4.7%, with 60% of that decline driven by sharp falls in Nigeria and Vietnam, according to the firm.
It said its business last year had been impacted by "unprecedented levels of commodity and energy inflation" and expected the economic environment would remain "a factor of uncertainty" this year as well.
source: AFP
Copyright 2024, Alliance News