Irish sales help revenues at Heineken

Market share gains in Ireland and a number of its other major western European markets helped mitigate sliding sales volumes elsewhere in the continent for Dutch beer giant Heineken in the first quarter of this year.

The drinks group yesterday reported a 3.4% year-on-year increase in revenue — to just shy of €4.5bn — for the first three months of this year. While Heineken’s main growth is coming from its Africa/Middle-East (first quarter consolidated revenue rising, there, by nearly 5%) and Americas (revenue up by almost 9% in the period) operations, Western Europe saw sales growth of almost 2%.

Management noted that while lower volumes were seen in the British, Italian and Swiss markets; good volume growth was evident in markets such as Ireland, Holland, France, Belgium and Spain. It added that increased marketing spend, innovation and brand development drove market share gains in those territories during the most quarter.

Commenting on the figures, Heineken group chief executive and chairman, Jean-Francois van Boxmeer said the board was encouraged by the positive start to the year, noting the continued top-line growth momentum in the Americas and the Africa/Middle-East region.

“This is offsetting continued challenging beer market conditions in Russia and softer consumer spending in Vietnam. Whilst economic conditions remain mixed, we will continue to invest in our portfolio of brands, drive further cost savings and fully leverage the benefits of our balanced global footprint,” he added.

While no quarterly break-out is available for Heineken’s Irish operations, back in February — at the time of the group’s annual results for 2013 — Heineken Ireland showed a near 3% rise in full-year revenues, from €464m to €477m, and a 1% increase in its share of the Irish beer market to 46%; although it also warned of the challenges facing it in a continuing fragile sector here.

It also noted the concern it had for the pub trade regarding SME access to credit.