Heineken sells less beer after customers hit by price hikes

Heineken has revealed that the amount of beer it sold dropped again over the latest quarter after customers swallowed higher prices.

However, bosses at the business said inflation-driven price increases are tapering off after its own cost pressures eased.

The Dutch brewer, which also makes Amstel lager and Strongbow cider, saw total revenues increase by 2% for the third quarter of 2023 to 9.6 billion euros (£8.4 billion). Net revenues saw organic growth of 4.5%.

This was primarily buoyed by higher pricing after beer volumes dropped by 4.2% for the quarter, with a 5.1% drop for the first nine months of the year.

Whilst inflation-led pricing is tapering, we observe a slowdown of consumer demand in various markets facing challenging macro-economic conditions

It said this included a sharper fall in volumes of its premium beers sold.

Heineken said this was also partly caused by poor weather across Europe in July and August, with sales trends picking up again in September as conditions improved.

Dolf van den Brink, chairman and chief executive officer, said it has seen a “gradual” improvement in its overall business performance but highlighted this has been “somewhat slower than our ambition”.

The company cheered the performance of its eponymous Heineken beer brand, which saw sales volumes increase 2.3% for the quarter.

In the UK, the brewer said net revenues were stable as lower volumes of its drinks were offset by a “high-single digit” rise in price.

Mr van den Brink said: “Whilst inflation-led pricing is tapering, we observe a slowdown of consumer demand in various markets facing challenging macro-economic 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.”