Skyfall: Bond drinks Heineken
“Vodka Martini, James?” “No, make mine a Heineken.” The day after James Bond was first seen sipping a Heineken out of a bottle on the big screen – a deal reportedly worth USD 45 million to the Dutch brewer - Heineken said on 24 October 2012 that its third-quarter revenue grew 7.1 percent to EUR 4.97 billion, with an organic growth of 4 percent. Volumes were up 1.5 percent thanks to the brewer selling more beer in the Americas, Eastern Europe and Africa.
However, in Western Europe, group beer volume declined by 2.1 percent organically in the quarter because of lower sales in Finland, a double digit volume decline in Portugal due to the challenging economic environment and a low-single digit decline in the UK, Netherlands and Spain because of cautious consumer spending in the on-premise channel.
Still, Heineken managed to hike prices in several markets and cost savings contributed to profits going up. EBIT (beia), on an organic basis, increased in the mid-single digits, the brewer said.
In the end, investors were neither shaken nor stirred, much like most movie goers, who will have to get used to the idea that James Bond does not just have a licence to kill but also a licence to hawk a full drinks cabinet. In the latest Bond film, the Bond character is seen drinking Macallan whisky, Bollinger champagne and Heineken beer, not to forget his trademark cocktail.
