Turnover up 25% at Heineken

HEINEKEN Ireland increased its turnover and share of the beer market here in the first six months of this year but warned that the outlook for 2010 remains “weak and unclear”.

The brewer increased its turnover by 25 per cent to €211 million and boosted its market share to 27.1 per cent.

This was against a backdrop of declining sales in the Irish beer market as a whole, due to a fall in consumer spending. The value of the Irish beer market has declined by 3 per cent over the past year.

These figures included a contribution from Cork-based Beamish Crawford, which was acquired in 2008.

That deal added Beamish stout and Fosters lager to Heineken’s portfolio in Ireland.

A spokesman for Heineken said Beamish accounted for the “bulk” of the brewer’s revenue increase.

Commenting on the results, Declan Farmer, corporate affairs manager of Heineken Ireland, said: “In the face of deteriorating economic conditions, Heineken Ireland has delivered positive growth ahead of the market.

“This has been driven by very robust sales performances from the Heineken and Coors lager brands and the newly-acquired Beamish and Fosters brands.

“Whilst 2009 is proving to be a tough year for the industry, I do not see any positive outlook at this stage for 2010.”

Mr Farmer said the integration of Beamish Crawford had been “satisfactorily completed”. This involved the closure of the Beamish brewery in late May and 80 staff being made redundant.

Around 40 staff at the Beamish operation joined Heineken Ireland, which also has a brewery in Cork. Heineken Ireland employs 441 staff.

Mr Farmer said the Beamish brands – with the exception of Miller, which did not transfer – have all “performed ahead of the market” and that the stout was “performing extremely well”.

Beamish increased its share of the stout market by 0.3 per cent in the first six months of this year. This compared with a 6.3 per cent fall in the stout market as a whole.

Heineken’s two stout brands – Beamish and Murphy’s – account for more than 10 per cent of the stout market nationally and more than 50 per cent in Cork.

Heineken’s flagship lager brand of the same name now has a 17 per cent share of the total beer market.

The brewer is now the number one lager company in the Irish market for the first time with a share of 28 per cent.