Heineken reports strong Q1 in beer sales
Organic net revenue grew 9.4% to €6.85 billion outpacing analysts’ 7.2% forecast (Photo by Isabella Mendes via Pexels)
Heineken exceeded beer sales expectations in Q1, marking its first year-on-year volume growth in a year and maintaining its profit growth forecast for 2024. The brewer reported a 4.7% organic growth in beer volumes for January-March, surpassing analysts’ expected 2.5% growth.
Despite price hikes in 2023 due to increasing costs, Heineken aims to regain volume growth this year, according to the Irish Times.
Heineken’s operating profit growth forecast range in February left investors disappointed, indicating potential single-digit growth for the year.
This cautious outlook was influenced by economic uncertainties in key markets like Vietnam and Nigeria, which impacted performance last year. However, Heineken reported nearly 20% volume growth in Nigeria and low-teens growth in Vietnam, rebounding from last year’s destocking.
Heineken’s flagship brand led in value in Brazil for the quarter, with beer volume up by a high-single-digit. Organic net revenue grew 9.4% to €6.85 billion, outpacing analysts’ 7.2% forecast, despite a 4.6% reduction due to currency translation. – Reuters
Dolf van den Brink, chief executive officer of Heineken International, announced that all regions posted increased volume and net revenue, attributing the growth partly to an earlier Easter and one-off effects. However, Heineken still views the economic landscape as “challenging and uncertain.”
Laurence Whyatt, analyst, Barclays, said: “There is no denying that the underlying business appears to have turned the corner and we continue to expect improvements during the year.”
