Heineken’s warning on outlook despite soaring sales
Heineken is the latest drinks giant to post soaring sales amid the reopening of pubs and bars.
The Dutch brewer said net revenues increased by 14.1% to 9.97 billion euros (£8.5 billion) for the six months to June, with operating profits more than doubling over the period.
However the firm, which also owns the Birra Moretti and Amstel beer brands, said it could also be hit by inflationary pressures for the rest of the year and expected its results for the full financial year 2021 to be below trading from 2019.
Heineken also said it expects “headwinds in input costs” in the second half of the year and will “be assertive on pricing” and look at cost management to address this.
‘Reason for caution’
Chief executive Dolf van den Brink said: “We are pleased to report a strong set of results for the first half year, whilst the pandemic continues to impact the world and our business. Yet there is reason for caution too.
“Firstly, Covid-19 remains a factor, with the biggest impact currently in key markets in Asia and Africa.
“Secondly, we see a rise in commodity costs, which, at current levels, will start affecting us in the second half of this year and have a material effect in 2022.”
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