Extracts from Heineken's review of the year
A special event during the period
under review was the opening of
the new distillery at Zoetermeer on
September 21, 1979, by His Royal
Highness Prince Bernhard of
The Netherlands. We should like to
say once again how grateful we are
to the Prince for performing this
ceremony.
In view of the change in the
balance sheet date from September
30 to December 31 we are
reporting on a once-only basis for
15 months, i.e. the period
October 1, 1978, to December 31,
1979. The turnover for this period
was N.fl. 3,489 million and the net
profit N.fl. 143.6 million.
Course of affairs
In the past calendar year 1979 the enterpri
se has developed along reasonably favour
able lines. The consolidated turnover
increased by 7.5% from N.fl. 2,672
million in the financial year 1977/1978 to
N.fl. 2,873 million in 1979. During the
same period the net profit rose by 5.9%,
namely from N.fl. 118.7 million to N.fl.
125.7 million. The share of turnover and
profit obtained outside The Netherlands
has further increased. Under the supervi
sion of Heineken 24.6 million hectolitres
of beer was brewed in 1979, compared
with 23.4 million hectolitres in the pre
vious financial year. In the field of soft
drinks, spirits and wine we have an exten
sive range at our disposal, the sales of
which are similarly showing a steady
growth. It is a source of satisfaction that
the gradual build-up of our international
position in the spirits sector was continued
in 1979.
Alcohol and society
The use of alcohol is a permanent feature
in large sectors of society, if only because
it is interwoven with social life. Although
the people concerned in our enterprise
have every interest in stimulating the sale
of our products as much as possible, this
object is defeated in those cases where use
of alcohol leads to misuse.
The sensible use of alcohol can be taught,
especially to young people in whom habits
can still be formed. We believe that this is
above all a matter of information and edu
cation. Because the interests of our enter
prise and of the consumer to a large extent
run parallel, it is also up to us to play a
12
Heineken
1978/1979
annual
report
Beer brewed under the supervision of Heineken (in millions of hectolitres)
1974/75
1976/77
1977/78
