Western Europe



 
 
Heineken is Western Europe’s leading brewer and the region is the biggest contributor to Group profitability thanks to the strong market positions and excellent brand portfolio. Heineken is Europe’s number one beer.
 
Heineken has market leadership positions in the Netherlands, Spain and Italy and is the number two player in France, Ireland and Switzerland. Heineken and in some cases Amstel are brewed under licence or imported to several Western European markets.
2007 key figures
Revenue €m
5,450
EBIT (beia) €m
665
Heineken brand volume (ex.Netherlands)
7.4 million hectolitres
Consolidated beer volume
31.9 million hectolitres
           
In Western Europe, Heineken realised good profit growth driven by the premiumisation of the beer market, higher prices and the delivery of cost savings resulting in an EBIT (beia) increase of 5.1%. Revenue grew 1.9% to EUR5,450 million.
 
In 2007, Heineken continued to invest in its key brands and in innovation. In the first half of 2007, two additional filling lines for DraughtKeg were installed in the Netherlands, increasing production capacity to more than 1 million hectolitres. As a result, supply and demand was better aligned and DraughtKeg was able to achieve a significant increase in sales, doubling volume versus 2006. Additionally, the rollout of the Extra Cold beer programme was accelerated, with the installation of Extra Cold fridges or draught installations in more than 22,000 outlets.
 
Consolidated beer volume in Western Europe was 0.6% lower at 31.9 million hectolitres. Higher volumes were achieved in Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, Ireland and in the export markets in the Nordic region. However, lower volumes in France, the Netherlands and Switzerland offset these gains.
 
In this challenging environment, the Heineken brand continued to gain market share, growing volume in the premium segment by 7%. All countries in the region recorded higher volumes of the brand, with Spain, France and Italy accounting for 70% of the total increase.