The Japan Times - Heineken shares pop on bubbly beer sales

The stock rose by more than 11 percent at the opening bell, the biggest gainer on the Amsterdam market, which was up slightly overall.

Earlier Wednesday, the world's second-biggest brewer after AB InBev had reported that overall beer volume sold rose by 1.6 percent.

This was higher than the 0.3 percent forecast by analysts and a turnaround from a 4.7-percent decline in 2023.

Heineken sales figures overall registered a slight dip last year, mainly due to currency fluctuations.

Revenue in 2024 came in at 36 billion euros ($37.3 billion), compared to the 36.4 billion euros it made the year before.

"Our beer volume expanded in all four regions, across both developed and emerging markets," said CEO Dolf van den Brink.

Looking ahead, the company said it expected to post "continued volume and revenue growth" despite ongoing economic challenges.

These included "weak consumer sentiment in Europe, volatility, inflationary pressures and currency devaluations across developing markets, and broader geopolitical fluctuations," the firm said.

Net profit was down sharply, at 978 million euros, compared to 2.3 billion euros in the previous year.

However, the company explained this was due to a one-off impairment from an investment in China Resources Beer, whose share price tanked on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

This write-down already hit the half-year results. "It's old news," said Van den Brink, describing it as a "technical adjustment."

The firm forecast operating profit before exceptional items and amortisation to be in the range of between four and eight percent in 2025.

"All in all, we see good momentum," said the CEO.

Sales of the brand's non-alcoholic beer grew 10 percent over the year, with the biggest growth in the United States and Brazil.

Y.Watanabe--JT