Heineken sales jump as drinkers soak up higher prices

Heineken’s sales and profits jumped in the first half of the year, as consumers drank more despite the company raising prices.

The Dutch brewer said revenues rose 37 per cent to €16.4bn in the six months to July, compared with the lockdown-marred year before.

Operating profit hit €2.1bn, a 20 per cent increase, which the company said was driven by “volume recovery, pricing and revenue management actions”.

Heineken did not disclose how much it had increased prices per unit, although its “price mix” — a measurement that includes the impact of consumers choosing more expensive products — rose 15.3 per cent year on year.

The company said that, compared with the pre-pandemic year of 2019, the volume of drinks sold was up 0.8 per cent, with net revenue 14 per cent higher, partially due to “inflation-led pricing”.

Dolf van den Brink, chief executive and chair, said the company had benefited from people in Europe returning to bars with “demand resilient until now despite mounting inflationary pressures on consumers’ disposable income”.

But he added that Heineken was facing “an uncertain outlook for consumers and businesses alike”.