Heineken’s eponymous lager brand posted 8.3% volume growth last year, the best in a decade, say the brewer, reporting also that its revenue increase by 5.6% in 2019 to €23.89 billion. Operating profit was €4.02 billion, up 3.9%.
Heineken-branded volume growth accelerated in the fourth quarter to 12%. For the year, the brand recorded double-digit growth in more than 40 markets, including Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Nigeria, the UK, Romania and Germany.
Brazil now represents the biggest market for the Heineken brand globally.
The company’s international brand portfolio grew high-single digit, driven by the double-digit growth of Tiger and Amstel. Tiger performed strongly in Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia. Amstel recoded positive results in Brazil, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and the UK.
In its Asia Pacific division, revenue for the year was up organically by 10.9%, thanks in part to solid beer sales in Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, South Korea and Japan.
Heineken also announced that its CEO of 15 years, Jean-François van Boxmeer, will step down in June this year, and he will be replaced by Dolf van den Brink, head of the company’s Asia Pacific region.
Said Van Boxmeer, “Our strategy continues to be growth oriented with an ever-increasing emphasis on the sustainability of this growth, both socially and environmentally.
“Over the past decade, we have lowered our water usage by almost a third to 3.4 hectolitres of water per hectolitre produced, ahead of our 2020 target. We increased the proportion of renewable energy in production to 19%. In more than 60 markets, we spent over 10% of Heineken® media budgets on responsible consumption awareness campaigns.”