World: Heineken’s first-half results show ‘solid’ operating profit growth

Heineken’s 2025 half year results have shown “solid” operating profit growth with the business expecting more positivity throughout the year.

The Dutch beer business saw revenue soar to €16,924 million and net revenue gain 2.1% organic growth, a lift of 3.3% per hectolitre.

Operating profit, which reached €1,433 million and saw 7,4% organic growth as led by African markets as well as being supported by the business across Vietnam, India, and China.

The company noted that its outlook for the full year remains unchanged, but revealed it expected operating profit to grow organically somewhere between 4% to 8%, an estimate that the beer business echoed from last year.

Speaking about the results, Heineken CEO and chairman Dolf van den Brink said: “In the first half, we delivered solid results as organic operating profit grew 7.4% as the operating margin expanded by 26 bps and net revenue increased 2.1%. At the same time, we continued to invest in future-proofing our business, strengthening our footprint and brand portfolios, funded by productivity savings.”

Highlighting the strides the business has made, van den Brink pointed out how Heineken’s “volume performance improved across all regions in the second quarter and continued to be of high quality. In the half year, mainstream beer volume increased 0.5%, premium beer volume rose by 1.8%, and Heineken volume grew by 4.5%”.

Describing how the company has achieved this, van den Brink explained: “Our advantaged geographical footprint helped us to adapt to ongoing macro-economic challenges which impacted consumer sentiment and expenditures. Our African markets led the operating profit growth, benefitting from strong portfolios and a transformed cost base. Profit growth was further boosted by the expansion of our portfolios and distribution led gains in Vietnam, India, and China. In Europe, extended retailer negotiations temporarily impacted volume, but were important to preserve future sustainable category development. Mexico and Brazil showed resilience in a softer market environment.”

Looking ahead, van den Brink added: “As the year progresses, we remain agile in our execution, focusing our investments to seize the biggest opportunities, supported by a step up in expected gross savings now to exceed €0.5 billion in 2025. Considering the current conditions, we confirm our full-year outlook to organically grow operating profit by 4% to 8%, reflecting our agility and commitment to invest in growth.”