Heineken beer sales fall in Q3; reiterates FY guidance

Brewing giant Heineken reiterated its full-year guidance on Wednesday, even as it sold less beer during the third quarter.

Heineken beer volumes fell 4.2% on a like-for-like basis in the three months ended 30 September, with declines in all regions except the Americas. Analysts anticipated a 4.3% decline.

Net revenues rose 4.5% before one-off expenses, broadly in line with expectations of a 4.8% increase.

Chief Executive Dolf van den Brink said: "Whilst inflation-led pricing is tapering, we observe a slowdown of consumer demand in various markets facing challenging macroeconomic conditions.

"In this context, we will stay the course on executing our strategy, remain vigilant on costs and focus on rebalancing our growth. All in all, the operating profit guidance range for 2023 remains unchanged."

The Dutch company said trading in Brazil and Mexico was strong, while its Asian arm saw improved trading but was still down, African volumes were hit by declines in Nigeria and South Africa, and European trading was impacted by poor weather throughout July and August.

Heineken also stood by its guidance for full-year operating profit growth of between zero and mid-single-digits.

As of 0845 BST, Heineken shares were up 2.70% at €86.66 each.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com