Americas
Revenue
Operating profit
Heineken volume
in premium segment
Regional beer volume
30. Regional r
The Americas remained one of our most profitable regions once again in
2005 thanks primarily to strong organic growth in Latin America, a sharper
focus on our brands, and - in the Unites States - the distribution agreement
with FEMSA and our excellent position in the imported beer segment.
"The launch of Heineken Premium
Light, the culmination of years
of hard work and innovation, is
poised to help Heineken penetrate
the light segment with a premium
proposition. Half of the US beer
market today is represented by
light beers."
Regional beer volume
In millions of hectolitres
2001 7.8
2002 8.4
2003 12.5
2004 WÊÊÊ^ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊBËÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊBÊÊÊÊÊË 14.5
2005 15.1
Massimo von Wunster, President Heineken Americas
The Americas turned in double-digit percentage
revenue growth, thanks to a strong volume
performance in Chile and Argentina, as well as
the roll-out of our distribution agreement with the
Mexican brewer FEMSA for North America and the
good performance in the Caribbean. In the US
market, we sidestepped price wars and a positive
price mix contributed to partially offset slightly lower
volumes. Depletions - sales by distributors to
retailers, which represent a reliable barometer
of consumption - turned from negative to positive
in the second half of 2005.
The region's EBIT fell 12 percent year-on-year
despite the strong volume growth in Latin America
and the positive contribution of the FEMSA
agreement and better results in the Caribbean
were offset by a €67 million negative foreign
exchange impact. At an organic level, additional
spending in marketing and innovation, which is
expected to boost top-line growth in the future,
held the EBIT growth back.
In terms of regional beer volume, the performance
was lopsided. In Latin America, one of the fastest-
growing regions, our volume surged organically by
an impressive 8.7 percent to 6.9 million hectolitres.
Heineken brand volumes grew in Latin America,
up 23 percent to 0.5 million hectolitres. In the
€1.7 billion
€242 million
7.3 million hectolitres
15.1 million hectolitres
Heineken N.V. - Annual Report 2005
