Heineken’s share price down, posts third quarter revenue that misses initial analysts’ estimates

Heineken, which rejected to negotiate with SABMiller Plc in September, made an official statement on its results for the third fiscal quarter. It became clear that its sales growth during the period missed initial analysts forecasts.

The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Jean-François van Boxmeer, said in a statement, cited by the Wall Street Journal: “Amid a volatile global environment and poor weather during the high selling season in Europe, we maintained top-line growth.”

According to Heinekens statement, its revenue rose by 0.2% in comparison to a year earlier. This increase came short of the median estimate by analysts, pointing to a 1.5% gain. Heineken also said that its beer volume declined by 0.2%, which is also lower than the 0.5% gain, projected by experts. The figures are reported on a consolidated basis and exclude acquisitions, disposals and currency flotation effects.

The company explained that its sales and volumes on the territory of Europe declined due to unseasonably wet weather conditions. However, the growth in other regions is continuing. The beer sales of the company were reported as “barely changed” during the period of July to September 2014.

Heineken reported that its net profit over the third quarter declined from €483 million in the same period last year, to €460 million ($584.9 million). The companys revenue dropped by 1.5% from €5.18 billion last year to €5.1 billion before excluding the currency effects and divestitures. Still, the company maintained its full-year forecast.

Marco Gulpers, an analyst at ING, said for Bloomberg: “The main miss in the numbers is clearly the Western European region. However, the confirmation of EBIT growth for the year should bring comfort.”

Heineken lost 1.74% to trade at €57.11 per share by 8:45 GMT, marking a one-year increase of 8.22%. The company is valued at €33.50 billion. According to the Financial Times, the 24 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Heineken have a median target of €60.00, with a high estimate of €69.00 and a low estimate of €50.10. The median estimate represents a 3.16% increase from the last price of €58.16.