Drinks
By raising prices, the Dutch beer company Heineken has more than compensated for the decline in beer sales in 2023. Turnover increased by almost 5 percent last year.
Heineken’s annual turnover amounted to almost 36.4 billion euros in 2023. A year earlier that was still 34.6 billion euros. However, the volume of beer sold fell by 4.7 percent to 242.6 million hectoliters. The decline in volume was greater than the company expected, but Heineken increased prices by more than 10 percent in the first half of 2023.
The beer brewer says that in a “challenging market” it has managed to absorb both the decline in sales volumes and the increased costs for raw materials, materials and energy, among other things.
But this was only partially successful, because profits fell last year: from 2.7 billion euros in 2022 to 2.3 billion euros in 2023. Last year’s profit figure was also boosted by significant cost savings. Heineken states that it has cut 800 million euros in costs.
The Dutch beer group, which does not rule out further price increases, also indicated where beer sales weakened. Nigeria and Vietnam were responsible for more than 60 percent of the decline. The wet summer in Europe also weighed on sales.
Finally, Heineken indicates that the departure from Russia at the end of August also had an influence on beer volumes. Only this year will the full impact of that exit become clear. (pse)
