Dutch beer brewer Heineken managed a higher profit in its first 6 months than analysts had expected. Its Asian growth was extremely high, while Africa suffered setbacks.
Volume sales growth
Heineken’s turnover grew to 10.1 billion euro in the first 6 months of 2016, up 2 % compared to last year. Nevertheless, its net profit dropped 50 % compared to its previous fiscal year, down to 586 million euro, largely because of its extraordinary profit back then – when it sold Mexican packaging company Empaque for an additional 379 million euro.
The company was also forced to write off 233 million euro of its activities in Congo. Despite this setback, its profit still outperformed expectations. Its operational profit shows a different picture than its results, because it grew 10 % to 1.7 billion euro.
Its sales volume is much higher than last year’s numbers though, up 4.1 % to 97 million hectoliters of beer. The Asia – Pacific region managed the largest organic growth, up 19.4 %, while the American continent (+ 4.7 %) and Western Europe (+ 2.3 %) also managed growth.
Double-digit growth for Affligem
In the Africa, Middle East and Eastern Europe region, volumes dropped 1.2 %, with disappointing results in Russia, Congo, Ethiopia, Egypt and Nigeria.
The Heineken brand itself managed a 2.6 % sales increase in the first six months, while Belgian Affligem and Mexican Sol Premium both surpassed the 10 % sales growth milestone.
