THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Dutch brewer Heineken stated Wednesday its beer gross sales have been up however noticed a “difficult and unsure” financial outlook and couldn’t assure the identical progress for the remainder of the yr.
World beer quantity bought rose by 4.7 % within the first quarter of the yr in comparison with the identical interval in 2023, stated Heineken, the world’s second-biggest brewer after AB InBev.
The expansion was pushed by volumes in Asia-Pacific, which loved 9.4 % progress, offsetting slower progress in Europe (1.6 %).
The group’s different manufacturers embrace Amstel, Sol, Tiger, and Birra Moretti.
Heineken Chief Government Dolf van den Brink noticed an “encouraging” begin to 2024, which was boosted by an early Easter vacation.
“We proceed to see the financial atmosphere as difficult and unsure, and can stay agile and centered,” he stated.
Regardless of what the agency described as a “stable” begin to the yr, it warned, “we can’t extrapolate the reported top-line progress to the remainder of the yr.”
Revenue forecast unchanged
The brewer left its revenue forecasts unchanged for the yr, with working revenue predicted at “low-to-high single digits” and web revenue decrease than that.
Heineken now not publishes quarterly web revenue figures, unveiling these solely in half-year or full-year experiences.
Aarin Chiekrie, an analyst from Hargreaves Lansdown, stated the outcomes “lastly gave the group one thing to lift a glass to.”
“Complete beer volumes have been a lot better than the market anticipated, that means that progress on the highest line got here from a a lot more healthy mixture of each worth and quantity this quarter,” added Chiekrie.
READ: Heineken sells its Russian operations for 1 euro, taking a 300M euro hit
Heineken inventory fell barely by 0.4 % round an hour into buying and selling on the Amsterdam inventory change, which was up by 0.8 % on the identical time.
Heineken’s annual report in February confirmed a drop in income and beer volumes bought over 2023.
READ: Heineken revenue increased than anticipated after Asia rebound
The agency’s 2023 web revenue got here in at 2.3 billion euros ($2.4 billion) in comparison with the two.7 billion euros it made the yr earlier than.
Total beer gross sales in 2023 dipped by 4.7 %, with 60 % of that decline pushed by sharp falls in Nigeria and Vietnam, based on the agency.
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It stated its enterprise final yr had been impacted by “unprecedented ranges of commodity and power inflation” and anticipated the financial atmosphere would stay “an element of uncertainty” this yr as properly.
