Heineken: profit falls as Covid weighs on volume

(CercleFinance.com) - Dutch brewer Heineken reported on Thursday a 76% drop in net profit for the first six months of the year, with the Covid-19 pandemic weighing heavily on sales.


Based on preliminary figures, first-half net revenue fell by 16.4% in organic terms, driven by an organic decline of 11.5% in beer volume.

Volumes were most affected in the Americas and Africa, Middle East and Eastern Europe regions, with a decline in the mid-teens, Heineken said, followed by Europe, with a high-single digit decline.

After reaching a low in April, volume started to gradually pick up into June as lockdowns were lifted around the world, it added.

The company said that, as planned, it will publish its final results on 3 August.

Including exceptional items of around 550 million euros for impairments on tangible and intangible assets, the brewer expects to post a net loss of around 300 million euros over the first half of the year.

The shares were down over 3% on Euronext Amsterdam after these preliminary results.

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