Skip Header
Important information: The value of investments can go down as well as up so you may get back less than you invest. Investors should note that the views expressed may no longer be current and may have already been acted upon. This is a third-party news feed and may not reflect Fidelity’s views.

'Challenging' year hits beer sales at Heineken

(Sharecast News) - Dutch brewer Heineken struck a sober tone on Wednesday, after price rises during a "challenging" year hit volumes. The world's second-biggest brewer said revenues in the year to December end rose 4.9% to €36.4bn.

But beer volumes fell 4.7% on an organic basis, while net profits slid 14.1% to €2.3bn.

Stripping out exceptional items and amortisation, operating profits rose 1.7% to €4.4bn, ahead of most forecasts for no change.

But net profits on the same basis fell 4.3% to €2.6bn.

Dolf van den Brink, chief executive, said: "After a strong 2022, 2023 proved to be challenging. Strong pricing to offset very high input and energy cost inflation and volatile macroeconomic conditions in some key markets affected our volume momentum.

"Looking to 2024, we remain cautious about the global economic and geopolitical outlook.

"Our focus going forward will be on revenue growth, balanced between volume and value, by continuing to invest behind our brands, innovations, commercial capabilities and route-to-consumer to deliver long-term sustained value creation."

Heineken, which also makes brands including Tiger, Amstel and Sol, said it expected low-to-high single digit operating profit organic growth before one-off items in 2024.

Analysts were expecting 9.9% organic operating profit growth this year.

Share this article

Related Sharecast Articles

RBC Capital lifts Centrica to 'outperform', shares rally
(Sharecast News) - RBC Capital Markets upgraded Centrica on Friday to 'outperform' from 'sector perform' and lifted the price target to 170p from 145p.
Jefferies reiterates 'buy' on National Grid, trims price target
(Sharecast News) - Jefferies trimmed its price target on National Grid on Friday as it reiterated its 'buy' rating on the energy infrastructure firm.
JPMorgan reiterates 'overweight' on Whitbread
(Sharecast News) - JPMorgan Cazenove reiterated its 'overweight' rating on Whitbread on Friday as it said it continues to be one of its key convictions, and sees the recent pullback - the shares are down 20% year-to-date - as "an opportunity to revisit the story".
Short-lived sunny spell helps boost UK supermarkets
(Sharecast News) - UK supermarket sales pushed higher in May, industry data showed on Friday, boosted by a brief spell of warmer weather.

Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

Award-winning online share dealing

Search, compare and select from thousands of shares.

Expert insights into investing your money

Our team of experts explore the world of share dealing.