[ad_1]
Governments closed restaurants and bars around the world, banned sporting events, and urged people to stay home to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
FILE: Heineken Beer on display during the DirecTV-sponsored Vulture Festival Opening Night Party at The Top of The Standard on May 20, 2016 in New York City. Image: AFP
THE HAGUE, The Netherlands – Heineken, the world’s second-largest brewer, said Wednesday that containment measures for the coronavirus strangled sales, which fell 14% in volume during March.
Governments closed restaurants and bars around the world, banned sporting events, and urged people to stay home to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
“Our performance for the first quarter reflects the initial impact of those measures, and volumes in March were obviously greatly affected,” Heineken Chief Executive Jean-Francois van Boxmeer said in a statement.
The next three months didn’t look much better either.
Beer sales by volume fell 14% in March according to the income statement, when many governments began implementing containment measures.
In Italy, which was blocked for most of the month, sales volumes decreased by a third. In Spain, another country that closed early, the drop was around a quarter.
Excluding the impact of brand acquisition and sales, volume sales of Heineken’s various brands fell 2.1% during the quarter.
“The initial impact of the COVID-19 crisis is visible on volume performance this quarter and is expected to worsen in the second quarter of 2020,” the statement said.
“We have taken the necessary steps to reduce our costs, secure additional financing and adapt to rapid changes,” he added.
Executive board members and the executive team decided to cut their base salaries by 20 percent from May to December.
The company also decided to cancel the payment of an interim dividend after its half-year results in August.
Heineken said its first-quarter net profit fell to 94 million euros ($ 102 million) from 299 million for the same period last year.
It did not provide quarterly sales figures.
“The lack of visibility at the end date of the COVID-19 pandemic and the duration of its impact on the economy has led Heineken to withdraw all guidance by 2020,” he said.
The company promised not to carry out any “structural layoffs” during 2020 due to the virus outbreak.
Heineken’s share price fell 2.1 percent, while the Amsterdam AEX index rose 1.6% in midday trading.
[ad_2]
