- Sales from three months to end of September flat – -0.3% – at EUR7.33bn (US$8.52bn)
- First nine months of 2025 sit at +1.3% – EUR21.51bn
- First half’s 2.1% sales rise keeps year-to-date in positive territory
Heineken has seen a slither of red hit its quarterly sales performances, with all eyes turning to the closing three months of 2025 to attain full-year top-line growth.
Having posted a modest 2.1% increase in sales from the first six months of this year, the brewer today announced a technically flat top-line performance in the quarter to the end of September. The showing puts Heineken’s year-to-date sales 1.3% ahead of the corresponding period a year ago.
The group’s sales in the closing quarter of 2024 totalled EUR7.47bn (then-US$7.71bn), a 4.7% rise, implying that this year’s Q4 has leeway to around -3.5% for 2025 to attain parity with last year.
In volume terms, the most recent three-month period declined by 4.3%, with the ‘Africa & Middle East’ region (+2%) being pulled back by ‘Europe’ (-4.7%) and ‘Americas’ (-7.4%). The same dynamic played out value-wise in Q3; ‘Africa & Middle East’ jumped by 14.9% versus -3.6% in ‘Europe’ and -5.5% in ‘Americas’.
The ‘Asia Pacific’ region, meanwhile, was flat (-0.8%) in volumes on a 5.6% lift in quarterly sales by value.
The main headlines geographically speaking came in Nigeria, where Q3 sales were up by “in their thirties … in an economically challenging environment”, and the US, which fell in value terms by “mid-teens” on “distributor stock adjustments and a tough beer market that disproportionately impacted core consumers of Heineken and Dos Equis”. The group’s performance in Vietnam, meanwhile, was “ahead of a growing market” led by its namesake brand’s Silver extension.
Heineken Silver, the lower-ABV version of its Heineken sibling, enjoyed a healthy three months, delivering a volumes leap of just under 28% (+31.6% in YTD). Brand Heineken dipped by 0.6% in volumes in Q3 (+2.7% YTD), while Heineken 0.0 disappointed, slipping 1.8% in the quarter (-0.6% YTD).
“Macroeconomic volatility persisted as anticipated and became more pronounced in the third quarter, creating a challenging environment, resulting in a mixed performance,” said CEO Dolf van den Brink. “We expect consumer confidence and demand to recover when conditions normalise.
“Our portfolio continues to evolve positively, with market share gains in a substantial majority of our markets, and (brand) Heineken and premium (brands) volume growing year-to-date. Furthermore, we are future-proofing the business by accelerating digital investments and reshaping our organisation.”
Last week, the company confirmed plans to review the headcount at its headquarters in Amsterdam, with up to 400 positions expected to be affected.
