“Despite the solid start to the year, we cannot extrapolate the reported top-line growth to the rest of the year,” it said.
Heineken
disappointed investors in February with its wide range for forecast operating profit growth, which it said could be anywhere between a low and high single-digit percentage this year.
Its cautious view early in the year had been in part caused by the uncertainty in two of its important markets, Vietnam and Nigeria, where economic conditions dragged on its performance last year.
Heineken said total volume in Nigeria grew close to 20%.
In Vietnam, where it had to destock last year, volume rose in the low-teens.
Barclays analyst Laurence Whyatt pointed out a recovery in high-margin market Vietnam, as well as promising performance in Mexico and Brazil.
“There is no denying that the underlying business appears to have turned the corner and we continue to expect improvements during the year,” he said in a note.
In Brazil, Heineken said its namesake brand became the No.1 brand by value in the quarter, while beer volume grew by a high-single-digit.
Net revenue before one-offs rose 9.4% organically to 6.85 billion euros ($7.33 billion), above the 7.2% growth expected by analysts. Currency translation reduced the figure by 4.6%, Heineken added.
Reuters