Heineken is set to report its final quarter and full-year results tomorrow (16 February). Here, just-drinks takes a look at the highs and lows for Heineken in the three months to the end of December.
- Speaking exclusively to just-drinks in October, Jean-Francois van Boxmeer, Heineken’s CEO, said that the company had not written off Europe, despite its stronger presence of late in growth markets such as Mexico. “Europe is still a growth market for us,” he said at the time, adding that the brewer was focused on “recalibrating” its operations in the region.
- Also in October, the brewer’s UK division gave the Kronenbourg 1664 beer brand a music-related push, in partnership with heavy rock band Motorhead. Heineken UK used a slowed-down version of the group’s ‘Ace of Spades’ to soundtrack its ‘Slow the Pace’ campaign for Kronenbourg.
- A month later, in November, the company lined up its next phase of share buy-backs to cover the 20% stake it will give to Fomento Económico Mexicano (FEMSA) in return for buying the FEMSA Cerveza beer division. Heineken said it will buy up to EUR150m-worth (US$202.6m) of its own shares between mid-November last year and mid-June this year.
- A few weeks later, in early-December, the company moved to “streamline the visual identity” of its namesake beer brand, with the global launch of an updated bottle design. The new-look bottle was launched in Western Europe at the beginning of this year.
- Finally, and just outside the quarter in early-January, Heineken upped its already-dominant position in Nigeria with the purchase of five more brewers in the country. The transaction, for an undisclosed amount, saw the company buy two holding companies from the Sona Group, both of which have controlling interests in the Sona, IBBI, Benue, Life and Champion breweries.