Ahead of the release on Wednesday of Heineken’s first quarter 2017 trading update, here’s a look at the events that shaped the three months to the end of March for the company.
- The quarter started with the Europe-wide launch of Indonesian lager brand Bintang
- At the same time, the brewer’s Australian unit rolled out a scheme to refund customers who are not satisfied with new mid-strength beer Heineken 3
- Towards the end of January, Heineken confirmed that it was in “ongoing” discussions with Kirin Holdings over the possible acquisition of the Japanese group’s Brazilian brewing operations
- At the start of February, the firm renewed its sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League for another three years
- Meanwhile, Heineken’s New Zealand unit DB Breweries purchased the country’s Tuatara Brewing Co – a craft brewer
- And by mid-February, Heineken had agreed to purchase Brasil Kirin for EUR664m (then US$706.3m) – almost half the price the Japanese firm paid in 2011
- Later in the month, CEO Jean-Francois van Boxmeer said the company would roll out a non-alcoholic version of its namesake beer brand in Europe
- At the end of February, Heineken vowed to fight a EUR100m (US$105.6m) compensation claim by a Greek brewer that followed the imposition in late 2015 of a near-EUR32m fine related to alleged infringement practices in the country
- In March, Heineken moved to defend its red star logo after reports Hungary’s Government wanted to ban the image
- Later in the month, the brewer said proceeds from a new US$1.75bn fund-raising effort could go towards future acquisitions
- And at the end of March, the firm bought South African craft brewer Stellenbrau for an undisclosed amount.