BREWING

Heineken, the world’s second-largest brewer, yesterday unveiled better than forecast sales and profits for 2017 but warned that it expects volatile economic conditions in the year ahead.

The improvement in last year’s figures was driven by factors including a strong performance by its eponymous lager brand and growth in emerging markets.

The group made a net profit of €2.25 billion (£2bn) in 2017, representing organic growth of 9.3 per cent compared to a year earlier as revenues increased to €21.89bn from €20.79bn.

Heineken, which employs 600 people in Scotland with the majority at its site in Edinburgh, also highlighted its controversial acquisition of 1,900 pubs from Punch Taverns in the UK as one of the key achievements of the year.

Chief executive Jeanfrançois van Boxmeer said 2017 had been a strong year all-round for the group with organic growth in volume, revenue and operating profit across its regions.

But he said the environment

0 Strong growth in emerging markets saw brewing giant increase sales

VAN BOXMEER, CEO “will continue to be marked by volatility and uncertainty” as the company trimmed its expectations for future margin growth.

“We are committed to longterm value creation and will continue to strive for superior top line growth whilst working on improving our operating profit margin,” he added.

Group consolidated beer volume rose 3 per cent with growth across all regions. Sales of its core Heineken product grew 4.5 per cent, one of the brand’s strongest performances in recent years, with positive volume performance across all regions apart from Asia Pacific.

During the year, Heineken became the second largest beer company in Brazil with the acquisition of Brasil Kirin and said it continued to invest in developing markets with the expansion of production capacity in Cambodia, Ethiopia, Haiti, Mexico and Vietnam, the opening of a new brewery in Ivory Coast and the announcement of the construction of a new brewery

“Heineken delivered strong results in 2017, with all regions contributing to organic growth in volume, revenue and operating profit”