Heineken N.V. (EURONEXT:HEIA) shares have fell close to 8% after the Dutch brewer saw its sales volumes come in weaker-than-expected for the first half.
Volumes for its beers sold rose by 2.1% for the first six months of the financial year, down on the 3.4% predicted by analysts, with the Euros failing to give the company the boost needed.
“Typically big sports events like the Euro Cup have a positive impact but the weather has been significantly below long-term averages and below last year, impacting our business,” said boss Dolf van den Brink.
Aarin Chiekrie at Hargreaves Lansdown said: “Although the group gained share across most of its markets amongst increased competition, volumes were softer than expected.
“That meant price hikes had to do most of the heavy lifting in the first half.”
Dan Coatsworth at AJ Bell added: “What’s still uncertain is consumers’ capacity to spend big on discretionary items while interest rates stay high.
“While lots of people might enjoy a beer or two, they may have no choice but to cut back on these little luxuries if they remain under financial pressure.”
A nearly £740 million hit from its investment in a Chinese brewer also added to Heineken’s woes.
China Resource Beers is down close to 25% in the year-to-date due to weakened demand, with the write-down stripping away around 20% of the value of Heineken’s initial investment.
This resulted in the Dutch company suffering a net loss of €95 million.