Heineken revenues increase as demand for beer in supermarkets grows

24 April 2024 , 14:46

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Heineken sales grew strongly over the first quarter of 2024 (Image: No credit)

Heineken has raised a glass to an increase in beer sales, thanks to a rise in demand for its products in supermarkets.

The brewing giant's UK arm also saw growth, fuelled by the popularity of Birra Moretti and a boost in its "premium" brand portfolio. The Dutch-headquartered firm announced that group revenues swelled by 7.2% to 8.18 billion euros (£7billion) for the first quarter of 2024.

Organic beer volumes rose by 4.7%, with premium beers leading the charge with 7.3% growth. Star performer Heineken branded beverages contributed to this uptick, pouring out a global volume increase of 12.9%.

In Europe, net revenues were 0.4%, up as consumers showed a taste for more expensive beers. The off-trade sector, encompassing supermarkets and other retail outlets, was the main driver of higher volumes, helping to compensate for softer sales in on-trade venues like restaurants, pubs, and bars.

Dolf van den Brink, chief executive and chairman at Heineken, hailed the results as an "encouraging start to 2024". He said: "All regions grew volume and net revenue, and we continued to see a sequential improvement in the performance of the business, growing in line or ahead of the category in the majority of our markets."

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He credited the quarter's success to an early Easter and the rebound from negative one-off impacts from the previous year. He added: "Top-line delivery was well-balanced between volume and value as more markets returned to volume growth and our underlying premiumisation trends remained strong."

Equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, Aarin Chiekrie, said: "Heineken's first-quarter results finally gave the group something to raise a glass to. Total beer volumes were much better than the market expected, meaning that growth on the top line came from a much healthier mix of both price and volume this quarter."

"Despite the solid start to 2024, full-year guidance remains unchanged with underlying operating profit expected to grow at a low-to-high single-digit rate."

Lawrence Matheson