So far, so good: Heineken has turned the page on Covid and is enjoying robust demand.
The revival of beer consumption in Asia and in European bars and restaurants has boosted sales for the Dutch brewer.
Its worldwide turnover increased by 37% in the first half, to 16.4 billion euros.
The rise in prices partly explains these good results.
Consumers have not been dissuaded from consuming beer, however.
Volumes sold were even up 7.6% in the first half.
Premium beers, which Heineken has endeavored to develop, are growing even faster (+10.2%).
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The brewer's profits follow the same trend.
Its net profit reached 1.27 billion euros, up 22.3% over one year.
However, the owner of the Heineken and Amstel brands is suffering, like its competitors, from the sharp rise in its production costs.
This pressure has increased since the start of the war in Ukraine.
“Pressure on purchasing power”
For the moment, the group is compensating for these additional costs.
He both increased his prices and made savings.
“
We are committed, structurally, to limiting our cost base to compensate for the inflation we are experiencing
,” explains the brewer.
Heineken has implemented a productivity improvement plan.
This plan should generate 2 billion euros in structural savings by 2023, compared to 2019. By the end of 2022, the group estimates that it will have already achieved 1.7 billion euros in savings and that it will be "
on track to achieve
" its objective in 2023. Thanks to these efforts, its operating profit is today "
much higher than in 2019
", welcomes Heineken,
But the next few months will continue to test the brewer.
For 2022, the group maintains its growth forecasts unchanged.
The same is not true for 2023, when the context should continue to darken.
“
Customer demand has been resilient in the first part of the year, but there is a growing risk that pressure on purchasing power will eventually affect beer consumption
,” he warns.
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At the same time, production costs should not settle down.
“
The recent lull on the raw materials side is offset by the unprecedented level of gas prices, as well as by risks weighing on its availability, particularly in Europe, our main market
”, points out Heineken.
Faced with these challenges, the brewer will continue to apply its recipe: price increases, cost reductions and productivity gains.
The brewer has also announced that it is on the right track to exit Russia, as announced on March 28.
“
We are making progress in the secure transfer of our Russian activity to a buyer
,” explains the group.
Some 400 million euros have been provisioned to cover any capital losses linked to this departure.
None have been found so far.
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