Heineken net profit up to €1.1 billion

Heineken made a net profit of 1.1 billion euros in the first half of this year, compared to 631 million euros in the same period of 2014, the brewery announced on Monday. Beer sales increased by 1 percent.  Beer sales in Europe declined, but this was more than compensated for by solid increases in sales in emerging markets in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle eased. In total Heineken sold 98 million hectoliters of beer. The premium segment in particular did very well. Last year Heineken profited in Europe from the football World Cup during the second quarter. This year sales in Europe did less well. Heineken attributes the declining sales to the economic uncertainties in Greece and Russia. According to CEO Jean Francois van Boxmeer, the results are in line with their expectations. "Despite strong prior year comparatives and challenging conditions in a number of markets, we saw positive top line and profit growth", he said. "Whilst economic conditions and the pricing environment in certain key markets remain challenging, we are confident of continued progress and our full year expectations are unchanged." The company remains committed to further cost savings and will continue to implement cost efficiency across the company. Heineken expects to have fewer employees by the end of this year, but has no immediate plans for forced dismissals. Last week Statistics Netherlands announced that beer exports has risen to record heights.