24. Regional review continued
a volume of 2 million hectolitres (including export)
for the first time.
Overall, the brewing business of Heineken Italia
achieved a modest increase in EBIT, but this was
offset by a lower EBIT in the wholesale business,
resulting in a lower EBIT in total.
As part of our cost savings plan for Western Europe,
Heineken Italia has ceased the production in a
brewery in the north-east of the country, shifting
production to another location within Italy. The efforts
to reduce costs in the wholesale business produced
good results in 2005 and will continue in 2006.
Other countries
In the United Kingdom the repositioning programme
of the Heineken brand started in 2002 is on track.
We are pleased with our volume growth of almost
30 percent. As previously announced, we do not
expect the UK operations to break even in the
short term.
