Heineken’s first quarter revenues grew

Heineken, the world’s number three brewer, on 22 April 2015 reported stronger than expected revenue growth in the first quarter, boosted by sales of Mexican lagers and drinking over the New Year in Vietnam.

Heineken said consolidated revenue in the three months from January to March grew 2 percent on a like-for-like basis to EUR 4.34 billion. Beer volumes were up 2.2 percent to 39.2 million hl over the same quarter last year.

Volume and revenue growth in the first quarter were far strongest in Asia, thanks to double-digit percentage expansion in Vietnam and Cambodia.

This was followed by the Americas, where Heineken brews in Mexico and exports into the US.

African and Middle East beer sales growth slowed to 0.9 percent from 10.3 percent a year earlier, partly due to low oil prices hitting consumer confidence in Nigeria, it was reported.

In Europe, weak Russia and a duty increase in Italy resulted in lower sales in the region.

The brewer, which is aiming to improve its operating profit margin by around 40 basis points per year, retained its previous full-year outlook.

It has said it expects revenue to grow this year, but more slowly than in 2014, when the Soccer World Cup and emerging markets swelled the first half. This does not really bode well as in 2014 Heineken reported its slowest top-line growth since 2007. 2014 revenues rose just 0.1 percent to EUR 21.2 billion.