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Dutch brewery group Heineken’s first quarter resulted in more beer sold, thank to decent Asian growth. On the other hand, it failed to sell as much beer as in the previous year in other regions.
Increased net profit
Heineken’s total volume grew 1 % to 44 million hectoliters, including a 0.6 % organic increase. There were drops in several regions: Africa, Middle East and Eastern Europe went down 0.4 % and North and South America dropped 0.5 %. The rest of Europe and Asia made up for those losses, with a 0.5 % and 8.3 % increase respectively.
“Performance in the first quarter was in line with expectations, delivering volume growth against strong comparatives last year”, CEO Jean-François van Boxmeer said. Traditionally, the first quarter is Heineken’s weakest, but nevertheless, it managed a 7 % growth in last year’s first quarter. First quarter net profit grew, from 265 to 293 million euro.
The Heineken brand’s volume grew 2.5 % compared to the previous year, despite a 7.9 % volume drop in Asia. The reason was that the Vietnamese New Year was included in last year’s first quarter, but not in this year’s.
Brazilian distribution through Kirin network
The company also confirmed it will use Japanese Kirin’s distribution network in Brazil for its own beers, after it had announced in February it would acquire Kirin’s Brazilian activities. Up until now, the Dutch brewer’s products were distributed through Coca Cola’s local channels.
