HEINEKEN N.V. 2026 FIRST QUARTER TRADING UPDATE
Amsterdam, 23 April 2026
HEINEKEN N.V. 2026 FIRST QUARTER TRADING UPDATE
Solid first quarter with quality volume growth
| IFRS Measures | BEIA Measures | |||||||||
| (in € million) | Total growth | (in € million) | Organic growth | |||||||
| Total volume | 66.4 | 2.8 % | Total volume | 66.4 | 1.2 % | |||||
| Revenue | 7,892 | 1.4 % | Revenue (beia) | 7,888 | 2.2 % | |||||
| Net revenue | 6,703 | 2.5 % | Net revenue (beia) | 6,699 | 2.8 % |
Unless stated otherwise, all comments and figures in this announcement refer to BEIA metrics, and growth % indicates organic growth.
Growth: volume and revenue expansion
- Total volume grew 1.2%, with consolidated volume down 0.2%, and licensed volume up 26.1%.
- Net revenue grew 2.8%, net revenue per hectolitre up 3.0%.
- We gained or held share in around 60% of our markets.
Segments and Brands: global brands and priority segments delivering quality growth
- Premium volume grew 5.8%, led by Heineken® up 6.9%.
- Global brands volume up 5.7%, with Amstel and Desperados growing by a high-single-digit.
- Mainstream volume declined slightly, with our local power brands in growth led by Harar and Cruzcampo.
- Low- and non-alcohol (LONO) grew by a double-digit led by Heineken® 0.0 globally and Maltina in Nigeria.
- Beyond beer volume grew by a mid-single-digit, led by Desperados globally and Bernini at HEINEKEN Beverages.
Regional performance: priority markets lead the growth
- Africa & Middle East: robust price-mix and volume growth led by Ethiopia and HEINEKEN Beverages.
- Americas: solid price-mix offsetting modest volume declines in Brazil and Mexico.
- Asia Pacific: strong start of the year driven by Vietnam, supported by festive timings, India, and China.
- Europe: mixed performance with volume growth in the UK, France, and Spain, more than offset by phasing in Poland.
2026: Executing Evergreen 2030 with increased pace, outlook maintained
- Freddyai, our end‑to‑end AI solution across commerce, is on track and systemic innovation launches are accelerating.
- Commenced integration of HEINEKEN Costa Rica, consolidated as of 30 January 2026.
- Optimised footprint with full disposal of operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo as announced 10 April 2026.
- Second €750 million tranche of €1.5 billion share buyback programme commenced on 12 February 2026.
- Full year outlook: based on current assessment, confirm operating profit expected to grow in the 2% to 6% range.
DOLF VAN DEN BRINK, CEO, COMMENTED:
“We delivered a solid first quarter with quality volume growth, driven by our global and premium brands, and key growth segments. Leveraging our advantaged footprint, the priority markets led the growth. We also welcomed our new colleagues from the FIFCO’s beverage and retail businesses acquisition, which will further strengthen our growth profile.
Since the start of the year, global trade has become more complex and volatile, with impacts on energy availability and costs in certain markets. This leads to inflationary pressures, which might affect consumer sentiment in the medium-term.
As we navigate this environment, this quarter demonstrated an acceleration of EverGreen 2030. We are executing with discipline and focusing our resources to our priority markets and segments. Our productivity agenda is making solid progress and we are on track to deliver on our €500 million target for 2026. We further optimised our footprint by converting our business in the Democratic Republic of Congo to an asset-light licensing model. Based on our current assessment, we confirm our full year outlook of 2% to 6% organic growth in operating profit.
As this is my final report as CEO, I would like to thank all our customers, employees, investors, and other stakeholders for their trust over the past six years. I leave the company with the firm conviction of the long-term attractiveness of the beer category and of HEINEKEN’s ability to shape and capture the growth that will create sustainable value for decades to come.”
ENQUIRIES
| Media | Investors | |
| Christiaan Prins | Tristan van Strien | |
| Director of Global Communication | Global Director of Investor Relations | |
| Marlous den Bieman | Lennart Scholtus / Chris Steyn | |
| Head of Media | Investor Relations Manager / Senior Analyst | |
| E-mail: pressoffice@heineken.com | E-mail: investors@heineken.com | |
| Tel: +31-612200009 | Tel: +31-20-5239590 |
Editorial information
HEINEKEN is the world’s most international brewer. It is the leading developer and marketer of premium and non-alcoholic beer and cider brands. Led by the Heineken® brand, the Group has a portfolio of more than 340 international, regional, local and specialty beers and ciders. With HEINEKEN’s over 88,000 employees, we brew the joy of true togetherness to inspire a better world. Our dream is to shape the future of beer and beyond to win the hearts of consumers. We are committed to innovation, long-term brand investment, disciplined sales execution and focused cost management. Through “Brew a Better World”, sustainability is embedded in the business. HEINEKEN has a well-balanced geographic footprint with leadership positions in both developed and developing markets. We operate breweries, malteries, cider plants and other production facilities in more than 70 countries. Most recent information is available on our Company’s website and follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram.
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Disclaimer
This press release contains forward-looking statements based on current expectations and assumptions with regards to the financial position and results of HEINEKEN’s activities, anticipated developments and other factors. All statements other than statements of historical facts are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements also include, but are not limited to, statements and information in HEINEKEN’s non-financial reporting, such as HEINEKEN’s emissions reduction and other climate change related matters (including actions, potential impacts and risks associated therewith). These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as “aim”, “ambition”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “could”, “estimate”, “expect”, “goals”, “intend”, “may”, “milestones”, “objectives”, “outlook”, “plan”,“probably”, “project”, “risks”, “schedule”, “seek”, “should”, “target”, “will” and similar terms and phrases. These forward-looking statements, while based on management’s current expectations and assumptions, are not guarantees of future performance since they are subject to numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may change over time, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond HEINEKEN’s ability to control or estimate precisely, such as but not limited to future market and economic conditions, the behaviour of other market participants, changes in consumer preferences, the ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses and achieve anticipated synergies, costs of raw materials and other goods and services, interest rate and exchange rate fluctuations, changes in tax rates, changes in law, environmental and physical risks, change in pension costs, the actions of government regulators and weather conditions. These and other risk factors are detailed in HEINEKEN’s publicly filed annual reports. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only of the date of this press release. HEINEKEN assumes no duty to and does not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Market share estimates contained in this press release are based on outside sources, such as specialised research institutes, in combination with management estimates.
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