The price of grain and energy has been rising for some time, but the war in Ukraine pushed them up even more. Moreover, a longer war in Ukraine also means less grain on the world market, as that country is a large grain producer.
Higher turnover
The price increases already implemented were one of the reasons that Heineken increased turnover by more than a third compared to a year earlier, to almost 7 billion euros. The company did this by selling 5 percent more beer. In Europe, the increase in beer sales was much larger by more than 15 percent, but that is partly due to the fact that lockdowns were still in force in the first quarter of last year.
In the Netherlands, the amount of beer sold by Heineken increased by more than 30 percent and in France and Italy by more than 20 percent. In the United Kingdom, more than 40 percent more beer was sold. In Spain, Heineken suffered from a truck driver’s strike and growth lagged.
Premium beer
In addition to more beer sales, the growth of somewhat more expensive premium beers, such as beer from the Heineken brand, is also continuing. That also helps Heineken’s turnover, but also profits. This amounted to 417 million euros, compared to 168 million euros in the first three months of 2021.
The profit does not yet include the depreciation of approximately 400 million euros for the termination of the Russian activities. The company provides more information about this in the figures for the first half of the year.