Heineken witnesses “volume weakness” in July/August beer sales

Heineken nv reported a 5.7 per cent increase in net organic profits to €694 million and a 4.2 per cent increase in Group beer volumes for H1 of 2011 with organic revenue growth of 3.3 per cent to €8.36 billion driven by increased volumes, a 2.2 per cent price increase and an increased sales mix of 1.1 per cent.

Chairman and Chief Executive of Heineken’s Executive Board Joan-Francois Boxmeer pointed out that the company delivered an “incremental €82 million of costs savings through our Total Cost Management programme”.

Volume development in parts of Europe and the US is expected to remain challenging given the current economic uncertainty, high unemployment and ongoing weak consumer confidence.

“Heineken has witnessed volume weakness in the high-selling season of July and early August 2011, reflecting poor weather conditions in Europe, in combination with lower consumer confidence in some key markets,” reports the world’s third-largest brewer, “This will affect second half 2011 volume and profit performance and therefore Heineken expects full year net profit (beia), on an organic basis, to be broadly in line with last year.”