Heineken boosted by higher beer sales despite raising prices

Brewing giant Heineken has revealed that shoppers bought more beer over the past half-year despite raised prices.

The company, which also makes Amstel and Birra Moretti, reported a jump in sales and profits over the period to July as a result.

The Dutch business revealed total revenues increased by 37% to 16.4 billion euros (£13.7 billion), over the half-year compared with the same period a year earlier, which had seen sales dragged back by pandemic restrictions.

Operating profits also jumped, rising by 20.6% to 2.1 billion euros (£1.7 billion) and surpassing analyst expectations.

It told shareholders the rise in profits was driven by “volume recovery, pricing and revenue management” as the group tried to shake off significant cost inflation.

Heineken said it saw its price-mix, which includes both higher pricing and customers choosing more expensive products, rise by 15.3%.

Beer volumes increased by 7.6% organically against the same period last year, and were up 4.2% against pre-pandemic levels, as the brewer witnessed strong growth in the Americas region.

In the UK, the group reported strong growth for both Amstel and Birra Moretti as punters returned to pubs, bars and restaurants in force.

The group, which also makes Strongbow, reported that cider also returned to growth in the UK and Ireland.

Chairman Dolf Van Den Brink said: “We are encouraged by the results for the first half of the year.

“We benefitted from the recovery in Asia Pacific and the on-trade in Europe as consumers returned to the bars, with demand resilient until now despite mounting inflationary pressures on consumers’ disposable income.

“Our business performed well in the first half of 2022.

“We grew ahead of the industry in more than half of our markets and the Heineken brand again showed strong momentum, boosted by stepped up brand support.”