Dutch brewer issues stark warning

HEINEKEN sent a shiver through Europe’s brewing industry yesterday with a warning that weak consumer sentiment and a damp summer would wipe out profit growth this year.

The news from the world’s third-biggest brewer, the most exposed of the big players to western Europe’s struggling economies, drove its shares down as much as 16% to a 21-month low and hit others in the sector.

The Dutch group, which saw first-half profits fall short of expectations, was the last of the world’s top four beer makers to report.