Dutch brewer Heineken’s third-quarter sales figures beat forecasts on Wednesday, buoyed by non-alcoholic beers, but full-year guidance was unchanged.
The world’s second-largest brewer reported a 3.3% rise in organic net revenue year-on-year, just beating analyst expectations of 3.2% growth.
Heineken had disappointed investors earlier in the year with weaker than expected half-year figures and underwhelming full-year guidance.
The company said its namesake brand – which it prices higher than others in its portfolio – drove growth with volumes up 8.7% globally.
In Africa, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, the increases were in double digits.
Non-alcoholic beer and cider also grew 11%.
Volumes rose just 0.7% overall, however, and were down in two of Heineken’s three larger regions.
Chief executive of the drinks company Dolf van den Brink said in a statement, ‘Our business continues to deliver in line with our plan in aggregate despite some markets navigating challenging consumer and industry trends.”
The company left its full-year guidance of 4-8% organic operating profit growth unchanged.
Trevor Stirling, an analyst at Bernstein, said no one wanted or expected Heineken to change its guidance, and after Heineken missed the mark in recent years, “boring is good” for now.
Stirling added, “It needs to re-establish credibility, and that will take time; one in-line quarter is not enough, it’s going to take two, three, four.”
Heineken’s shares rose in early trade and stood 2.34% higher at 0721 GMT.
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