Heineken N.V. (EURONEXT:HEIA) reported better beer sales than expected for the first quarter but revenue growth was below forecasts as price rises eased off.
Revenue came in at €8.18 billion over the first three months of 2024, up 7.2%, the Dutch brewer said on Wednesday.
On an adjusted basis, revenue came in at €6.85 billion, below the market consensus estimate of €6.94 billion.
Beer volumes grew by 4.7% over the period, however, above expectations for a 2.5% increase, with premium beer volumes leading the way.
"This quarter was boosted by an earlier Easter and cycling negative one-off effects from last year," executive chairman Dolf Van Brink said.
"Top-line delivery was well-balanced between volume and value as more markets returned to volume growth."
Heineken reiterated guidance for low to high-single-digit operating profit growth, with shares up 0.4% on Wednesday morning.
Despite the revenue miss, Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Aarin Chiekrie said total beer volumes were "much better" than the market expected, "meaning that growth on the top line came from a much healthier mix of both price and volume this quarter."