Heineken: beer volume growth slows in third-quarter

(CercleFinance.com) - Heineken's beer sales rose in the third quarter, particularly helped by Asia Pacific, although growth slowed down from the first half of the year, prompting the shares to fall in Amsterdam on Wednesday.


The Dutch company, which brews Birra Moretti and Tiger, said that it has delivered "solid" organic volume growth of 2.3%, even with a challenging comparison base, given a "very good summer" last year.

However, Heineken sold 2.8% more beer in the first nine months of the year on a like-for-like basis.

Reported net profit increased to 1.7 billion euros in the first nine months of the year, from 1.6 billion euros in 2018.

In its trading update, Heineken said it expects around 4% organic growth in its operating profit this year.

Its shares are currently down over 2.8%, clearly underperforming the 0.4% drop in the STOXX Europe 600 Food & Beverage index, and making them one of the sharpest fallers in this index.

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