Heineken announced on Wednesday that its beer sales dropped in the first quarter of 2025, but the company has kept its profit forecast for the year unchanged despite increasing uncertainties, including the potential impact of tariffs.
The Dutch brewer, the second-largest in the world after AB InBev, reported global beer volumes of 54.1 hectolitres for the first quarter, a decrease from 55.4 hectolitres during the same period in 2024. Heineken attributed the decline to “calendar effects,” including a later Easter and the absence of an additional selling day, which would have occurred in 2024 due to the leap year.
Despite the decrease in beer sales, Heineken’s stock saw a boost, rising more than two percent at the market’s opening, as the drop in beer volumes was less than analysts had anticipated.
The company maintained its full-year guidance, forecasting operating profit growth between 4% and 8%, its preferred financial metric. However, Heineken cautioned about continued economic volatility that could affect consumer behavior, citing weak sentiment, global inflation, and currency devaluations against the stronger euro as potential headwinds.
“Broader uncertainties,” including recent tariff adjustments and the possibility of further increases, were also mentioned as factors that could influence the company’s performance going forward, the brewer added.
Heineken no longer reports quarterly net profit figures, instead revealing them only in its half-year and full-year reports. According to its annual report published in February, the company’s net profit dropped sharply to 978 million euros in 2024, down from 2.3 billion euros the previous year. The company attributed this decline to a one-off impairment related to its investment in China Resources Beer, whose share price plummeted on the Hong Kong stock exchange.
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