Central and
Eastern Europe
€3,143 million
€351 million
€363 million
42.2 million hectolitres
29.0 per cent
2.3 million hectolitres
Report of the Executive Board Regional Review
Revenue
EBIT
EBIT (beia)
Consolidated beer volume
Consolidated beer volume as of Group
Heineken volume in premium segment
Group beer volume in the region was adversely
affected by challenging, but gradually
improving, economic conditions and higher
excise duties. Higher volumes in Romania,
Austria, Serbia, Germany and Belarus could
not fully offset lower volumes in Russia,
Poland, Greece, Hungary, Croatia and the
Czech Republic. Volume of the Heineken
brand grew in Austria and Germany, but
declined in Poland, Greece and Hungary.
EBIT (beia) in the region was 6.7 per cent lower
as the decrease in volume was only partly offset
by cost reduction, improvement in price and sales
mix and foreign exchange benefits, the latter
primarily in Russia and Poland. The closure of two
breweries and other efficiency improvements
resulted in a productivity improvement and lower
fixed costs.
Grupa Zywiec in Poland achieved strong growth
in EBIT (beia) driven by fixed cost reduction,
lower input costs and favourable currency
movements. Strong sales execution and focused
marketing investment for the Desperados brand,
resulted in strong volume growth for this brand.
Overall volume was lower following an excise
duty increase and intense price competition
adversely affecting volume in the premium
segment. This was only partly offset by growth
oftheTatra brand.
Volume of Heineken Romania was 6 per cent up,
driven by growth of the Bucegi and Ciuc brands
which benefited from increased distribution and
higher marketing support. EBIT (beia) increased
substantially, primarily driven by this strong
volume performance.
Domestic volume of Brau Union Austria grew 1 per
cent with growth across most of the key brands.
In particular, volume of the Heineken brand grew
significantly, supported by increased sales of
the 33 centilitres bottle and the can package.
The Goesser brand benefited from the growth
of Goesser Natur Radler, a beer and lemonade
variant. EBIT (beia) decreased moderately, reflecting
higher upfront marketing and sales investment
in the on-trade channel.
In Russia, a tripling of excise duty at the start of
the year led to a contraction of the beer market.
A decision to fully recover the excise duty increase
through higher pricing and a delayed response
from the competition resulted in a substantial
volume decline in lower priced brands and lower
EBIT (beia). Encouragingly, our key premium
brands Heineken and Zlaty Bazant proved resilient,
both gaining market share.
In Greece, a highly challenging economic
environment, reduced tourism and the negative
impact of three consecutive excise duty increases
resulted in a volume decrease of 9 per cent.
The effect of lower volumes was only partially
offset by cost savings and productivity
improvements, resulting in a lower EBIT (beia)
of Athenian Brewery.
On an organic basis, volume of Brau Holding
International, our joint venture with the
Schoerghuber Group in Germany, remained
broadly stable in a declining market. Imported
volume of the Heineken and Desperados brands
increased strongly.