Heineken has increased its beer sales over the past half year. The brewer mostly grew in Asia and Africa, however. In Europe, there was even a volume decline.
Asian growth
In total, Heineken sold 116.1 million hectolitres of beer during the first six months of the year. That is a 3.1% increase compared to the same period last year. Volume growth was most substantial in Asia, where over 10% more beer was sold. The Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe also performed very well with a 7.1% increase.
The Amsterdam-based brewer was less successful in the rest of Europe, with a 1.5% volume reduction. Heineken blames the bad weather and the lack of a football World Cup this year.
Prospects remain
In the first half of the year, turnover increased by 5.6% to 11.5 billion euros. Operational profit amounted to 1.8 billion euros, leading to a net profit of 1.05 billion euros below the line. As such, net profit was 1.2% lower than a year before, partly due to higher income taxes.
For the rest of the year, Heineken sticks to its earlier predictions. That means the brewer is counting on growth between 3% and 7% for 2019 as a whole.
