Heineken reports 1% decline in sales volumes for 2008

HEINEKEN IRELAND said a combination of recession and increased shopping in the North could result in a fall of 8 per cent in alcohol consumption per capita in the Republic this year.

Declan Farmer, head of corporate affairs with Heineken Ireland, said “this year is looking very weak, and will probably be worse than 2008”.

His comments come as Heineken Ireland yesterday released 2008 results which showed flat turnover of €346 million, coupled with a 1 per cent decline in sales volumes. During the year the overall Irish beer market contracted 3 per cent.

As a result, the brewer’s share of the Irish beer market eased up to 22.3 per cent while Heineken lager increased its market share by 0.3 per cent last year to 28.4 per cent. The lager remains the most popular and has a 17.3 per cent share of the beer market.

Murphy’s Stout market share slipped to 4.3 per cent last year, compared with 5 per cent in 2007, with Mr Farmer noting overall stout sales declined 3 per cent in the year.

Stout sales account for 33 per cent of the beer market with lager taking a 61 per cent share. Pub sales dominate overall sales and accounted for over two-thirds of all Heineken sales last year.

The 2008 figures exclude sales from Heineken’s Beamish and Crawford unit which it acquired as part of its £7.8 billion (€8.8bn) joint-takeover with Carlsberg of Scottish Newcastle last year.

Heineken Ireland said sales volumes were 8 per cent lower in the crucial December month in 2008 compared with the same month the previous year with Mr Farmer attributing a significant part of the decline to increased cross-Border sales. He said sales volumes in the off-licence trade had declined over 4 per cent last year, the first decline in the last 10 years.