Heineken sells weaker-than-expected beer volumes after wet June

Beer giant Heineken has revealed weaker-than-expected sales volumes over the first half of the year, but said demand for its premium brands remained strong.

The group said beer volumes across Europe came under pressure from wet weather in June, but were still higher for the year.

It was also boosted by further price increases compared with the same period last year.

The Dutch brewing firm, which also makes Birra Moretti and Old Mout cider, reported revenues of 17.8 billion euros (£15 billion) for the first half of 2023, with 6% organic net revenue growth.

This was supported by higher pricing after the volume of beer it sold grew by 2.1%.

Its eponymous Heineken beer brand saw particularly strong growth, with volumes up by 9.2%. It said its premium beer business saw 5% growth as a whole.

Meanwhile, the company said sales of low and no-alcohol beers jumped, with a 14% increase for its Heineken 0.0 brand.

In Europe, the brewer said it gained market share in most markets with “slightly” higher beer volumes despite “poor weather in June”.

Dolf van den Brink, chairman and chief executive officer, said: “We delivered a solid first half of the year.

“In the second half, we will materially step-up investment in market and sales expenditures, with notable increases in key markets.”

Heineken also narrowed its profit guidance as part of the update, pointing towards operating profit growth between 4% and 8% for the current year.

Aaron Chiekrie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Heineken’s first-half results were slightly weaker than markets were hoping for, despite the Euros drawing in plenty of thirsty supporters this summer.

“And although the group gained share across most of its markets amongst increased competition, volumes were softer than expected.

“That meant price hikes had to do most of the heavy lifting in the first half.”