Heineken: first-half earnings miss on costs, investments
(CercleFinance.com) - Heineken, the world's second-largest beer maker, reported lower than expected earnings for the first half of 2019, citing cost inflation and investment in e-commerce and technology.
The Dutch brewer said that its first-half operating profit rose just 0.3% to 1.8 billion euros, missing expectations, on revenue that grew by 5.6% to 11.4 billion euros, which slightly outpaced market estimates.
Consolidated beer volumes grew 3.1% organically in the first half, below consensus of 3.6%.
The brewer stuck to its mid-single digit organic growth target in operating profit this year.
In a note to clients, analysts at Liberum - who have a "buy" rating on the shares with a target price of 103 euros - cited an "undoubtedly soft" first-half in terms of profitability.
"A long term focus can come at the expense of short term profits, which is indicative of the results we saw today," the British broker said.
The market frowned on this news, with the shares currently down 5.4% at 97.4 euros on Euronext Amsterdam.
Copyright (c) 2019 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.
The Dutch brewer said that its first-half operating profit rose just 0.3% to 1.8 billion euros, missing expectations, on revenue that grew by 5.6% to 11.4 billion euros, which slightly outpaced market estimates.
Consolidated beer volumes grew 3.1% organically in the first half, below consensus of 3.6%.
The brewer stuck to its mid-single digit organic growth target in operating profit this year.
In a note to clients, analysts at Liberum - who have a "buy" rating on the shares with a target price of 103 euros - cited an "undoubtedly soft" first-half in terms of profitability.
"A long term focus can come at the expense of short term profits, which is indicative of the results we saw today," the British broker said.
The market frowned on this news, with the shares currently down 5.4% at 97.4 euros on Euronext Amsterdam.
Copyright (c) 2019 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.