Heineken has seen its consolidated beer volumes down 2.8% in Europe for the third quarter of 2017, according to results just published by the brewer.
However, the group saw an overall 11.1% increase in total growth and a 2.5% increase in organic growth as a result of an improving performance in its rest-of-world markets.
In particular, Africa, Middle East & Eastern Europe saw organic growth of 8.8%, while Asia Pacific went up by 12.2%.
Heineken Performance
In terms of the Heineken brand, specifically, a 2.2% decline in organic growth in Europe was offset by a 21.3% organic increase in Africa, Middle East & Eastern Europe and an 8.9% increase in the Americas.
"Performance in the third quarter was solid, with an acceleration of organic volume growth in Asia Pacific and Africa, Middle East & Eastern Europe,” said Jean-François van Boxmeer, chairman of the executive board and CEO.
“Growth in Asia Pacific continued to be driven by Vietnam and Cambodia, whilst in Africa, Middle East & Eastern Europe, the main contributors were Russia, Ethiopia and South Africa. In the Americas, Mexico continued to deliver, and weaker volumes in the US were offset by growth coming from Brazil.”
Tough Comparatives
In Europe, markets including France and the Netherlands were affected by "tough comparatives and a cool summer", according to the company, while in the UK, volumes went down by 1% due to a partial delisting by a major retailer.
“Europe had to face tough comparatives, partly due to less favourable weather in some key markets,” said van Boxmeer. “During the period, we completed the acquisition of [Punch Taverns]. Our full-year expectations remain unchanged."
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
