Heineken Reports Strong Q3 Sales Performance

LONDON (Reuters) – Dutch brewer Heineken's third-quarter sales figures beat forecasts, boosted by higher-priced and non-alcoholic beers, though full-year guidance remains unchanged.

The world's second-largest brewer reported a 3.3% rise in organic net revenue year-on-year, just surpassing analyst expectations of 3.2% growth.

Earlier in the year, Heineken disappointed investors with weaker-than-expected half-year figures and uninspiring full-year guidance.

The company's flagship brand, priced higher than others in its portfolio, drove growth with volumes up 8.7% globally. In Africa, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific, increases were in double digits. Non-alcoholic beer and cider also saw an 11% growth.

Despite this, volumes rose only 0.7% overall, and were down in two of Heineken's three larger regions.

Chief Executive Dolf van den Brink stated, "Our business continues to deliver in line with our plan in aggregate despite some markets navigating challenging consumer and industry trends."

Full-year guidance for 4-8% organic operating profit growth remains unchanged.

Bernstein analyst Trevor Stirling noted that expectations for guidance changes were low, and said "boring is good" for Heineken after previous underperformance. He emphasized, "It needs to re-establish credibility, and that will take time; one in-line quarter is not enough, it's going to take two, three, four."

In early trading, Heineken shares rose by 2.34% at 0721 GMT.