Heineken Holding N.V. reports 2024 half year results

Core Viewpoint - Heineken Holding N.V. continues to execute its EverGreen strategy, achieving balanced growth despite economic volatility in certain markets, with a focus on sustainability, digital connectivity, and long-term value creation [2][24]. Financial Performance - Revenue for the first half of 2024 was €17.823 billion, reflecting a 2.2% increase, while net revenue (beia) grew by 6.0% organically to €14.824 billion, driven by strong performance in key markets such as Nigeria, Mexico, Brazil, Vietnam, and India [21]. - Operating profit (beia) reached €2.079 billion, showing an organic growth of 12.5%, with an operating profit margin of 14.0% [7][6]. - Beer volume increased organically by 2.1% in the first half of 2024, with Heineken® brand volume growing by 9.2% [3][11]. Market Dynamics - Heineken gained or held market share in over half of its markets, with premium beer volume up 5.1%, indicating strong consumer demand [10][22]. - The company faced challenges such as currency devaluation in Nigeria and inflationary pressures in Africa, but remains confident in its ability to adapt [5][4]. Strategic Initiatives - Heineken is committed to investing a larger portion of its gross savings into marketing and sales, particularly in high-potential markets like Mexico, Brazil, Vietnam, India, and South Africa [26][24]. - The company aims to achieve approximately €500 million in gross savings for 2024, exceeding its medium-term commitment of €400 million per year [13][25]. Outlook - Heineken updated its full-year outlook, expecting organic operating profit (beia) growth in the range of 4% to 8% [27][14]. - The company anticipates variable costs to increase organically by a low-single-digit percentage per hectolitre, while also expecting higher wage inflation [4][28].