Heineken posted a profit after tax of 417 million euros in the first quarter on Wednesday, but which was more than double compared to the same period last year.
Revenue rose more than expected, specifically by 25 percent to 5.8 billion euros, and the stock is rewarded with more than 4 percent rise on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange on Wednesday afternoon.
The top line growth is related to European consumers returning to the bars at the same time as easing coronary restrictions, but the world’s second largest brewery company warns of a sharp rise in prices in line with corresponding cost increases.
Beer-thirsty customers pay
The brewery is affected, for example, by rising grain prices, imported on a large scale from war-torn Ukraine and attacking Russia, which has been punished with sanctions. In addition, the upswing in energy prices has made transport more expensive.
“The fact that prices can rise so much while increasing volume is a powerful explanatory model to prove that the sector can pass on costs to customers with pricing both this year and next,” Bernstein analyst Trevor Sterling told the Financial Times.
Other brewery shares also excel positively. The world’s largest brewery company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, rises almost 3 percent in Wednesday’s pre-sale on Wall Street, while Carlsberg is up over 3 percent in Copenhagen.