E-Malt.com News article: 1231

The Dutch brewing force, Heineken N.V., announced on June 23 that in the first half of 2003, the sales volume of the Group is lagging behind expectations. The company expects net profit excluding non-recurring results to be around the same level for the first half of 2003 as reached for the comparable period of 2002. Heineken stresses that a substantial part of beer sales is realized in the summer-months of July and August. Therefore, a more specific forecast about the profit expectation for the full year of 2003, can, as usual, only be announced with the publication of the half-year results on 10 September 2003.

Heineken is confronted with a combination of exceptional factors in a number of beer markets that is having an adverse effect on beer consumption. According to the company, these factors include the slowdown of economic growth, the consequences of the recent war in Iraq, bad weather in North America and parts of Europe, and the SARS disease in the Far East.

Lower beer sales were recorded in the important markets of the United States, the Netherlands, Greece, France and the Far East. In addition, the Group is faced with the effects of the strong euro and higher pension costs. Despite the challenging market environment, Heineken was able to further reinforce its market position. The Group's share in the import segment in the United States increased once again, and also in other countries, the Heineken brand performed better than the overall market.



25 June, 2003