Heineken reports high-single-digit revenue growth in India for March quarter

Dutch brewing major Heineken NV on Wednesday reported a high-single-digit organic growth in net revenue from the India market in the March quarter, helped by volume growth and pricing.

Heineken, which now controls the leading Indian beer maker United Breweries Ltd (UBL), said it had a mid-single-digit volume growth in the January-March period, led by the domestic brand Kingfisher.

Its premium portfolio of beer in the Indian market grew in the "high-teens", led by Kingfisher's Ultra and Heineken Silver, the company said in the update for the first quarter of 2023.

"In India, net revenue grew by a high-single-digit organically, driven by volume growth and pricing. Beer volume grew by a mid-single-digit, led by Kingfisher," it said.

In the Chinese market, Heineken grew by close to fifty per cent, with a strong performance of Heineken Original and Heineken Silver, it added.

However, in the Asia Pacific region, Heineken's net revenue declined 5.4 per cent organically, with total consolidated volume declining 10.5 per cent.

The fall in beer volume in the region was mainly on account of declines in Vietnam and Cambodia.

"Whilst the premium portfolio declined in the low-twenties driven by Vietnam, other markets contributed to an underlying mid-teens growth for the quarter," the company said.

Overall, Heineken NV recorded a revenue growth of 9.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2023 to 7,632 million Euro, with a 3 per cent organic growth in the volume.

"The reported net profit for the first three months of 2023 was 403 million Euros," it said.

On the business outlook, Heineken said it continues to experience the effects of a volatile global economy and remains cautious about the impact on consumer demand.

"Following the start of the year, we see signals of a relatively resilient Europe and risks of slower economic growth in Asia Pacific, thus performance across markets may be different than anticipated.

"All in all, our full-year outlook remains unchanged, and we expect operating profit to grow organically mid- to high-single-digit," it said.

The Dutch major owns over 61 per cent share in UBL, a leading player in the domestic market with brands like Kingfisher, Kalyani Black and UB Export.

Besides, it also sells beer brands such as Heineken, Amstel Bier, Sol etc from the portfolio of the Dutch brewing major.