A i 2
IRid
KU*
31
"I i I
Africa, Middle East Eastern Europe
Building long-term growth
in challenging conditions
“We believe in the long-term future
of Africa. While operating in Africa
brings many challenges, the
opportunities to grow with the
continent are significant. We aim to
be a partner for growth, building
long-term value chains, investing in
local economies and continuing to
focus on good governance and
social sustainability.”
14.3%
Consolidated
beer volume
as of total
(2022: 15.3%)
€4,229m
10.6%
€450m
34.8mhl 5.7mhl
Im Liif
Introduction
Roland Pirmez
President, Africa, Middle East Eastern Europe
Sustainability
Review
Other
Information
Financial
Statements
Report
of the
Supervisory
Board
Report
of the
Executive
Board
The Africa, Middle East Eastern Europe (AMEE)
region faced challenging macroeconomic headwinds
including persistently high inflation, low consumer
purchasing power, currency shortages, devaluation,
rising energy costs and socio-political instability.
Despite this, the AMEE region delivered a resilient
performance with organic revenue (beia) growth
despite single-digit volume decline.
To navigate significant volatility in Nigeria, we
prioritised value capture over volume leading to a
positive revenue uplift despite double digit volume
decline, mostly driven by mainstream lagers.
Continuing power shortages and sluggish economic
growth contributed to a challenging year in South
Africa as we managed the integration of HEINEKEN
South Africa, Distell and Namibia Breweries Limited in
a highly competitive market. Route-to-consumer
remains a key priority to narrow market share gaps in
total lager with Heineken®, Amstel and Windhoek
while consolidating leadership in beyond beer with
Savanna and Hunters in cider and Old Buck, Amarula
and Klipdrift in spirits.
Across the region, premiumisation was driven by
Desperados, Windhoek Draught and Bedele Special.
Brand Heineken® grew brand power, distribution and
volume in seven markets, offset by volume decline in
Nigeria and South Africa. We continue to grow the
brand footprint with localised production in Congo
Brazzaville together with the launch of Heineken®
Silver in South Africa.
Ethiopia reached an all-time high in volume and
revenue growth, extending our market leadership. All
categories grew including premium led by Heineken®
and mainstream led by Harar brand - now the
second biggest beer brand in the country by market
share and brand power.
We continued to focus on improving market grip
and building strong sales power. Through ‘Voice of
the Customer’ feedback we achieved positive
momentum in response rate, closure of issues and
strong net promoter score growth. We increased
digital transaction capture across all markets,
leveraging data to improve customer experience
and capture productivity gains. Portfolio and revenue
management initiatives were a key priority to address
the evolving market.
The role of the region is to transform to a profitable
growth model to create more value from the long
term potential in Africa and deliver balanced and
profitable growth. Strengthening our position in the
five largest African markets is a strategic priority and
we took a major step towards that objective with the
acquisition of Distell and Namibia Breweries Limited.
Following Competition Approval in May, we
completed the integration in September. The new
business - named HEINEKEN Beverages - operates
across 13 markets, employs almost 6,000 people and
is a top 5 operating company. It brings together a
unique multi-category portfolio, with strong brands in
beer, cider, wine and spirits able to address consumer
needs across demand spaces with a strengthened
route to market. HEINEKEN Beverages is
implementing an ambitious public interest package
in South Africa supporting local suppliers, building
the barley value chain and making a positive impact
Our regional jewels, Primus and Turbo King, were
rejuvenated with more progressive and differentiated
identities, supported by exciting through-the-line
campaigns delivering impressive growth in DRC,
Rwanda and Congo Brazzaville. Maltina extended its
leadership in Nigeria, strengthening brand power and
delivering revenue growth supported by the ‘Together
with Happiness’ credentials campaign.
The localisation of barley and malt in Africa continues
to make progress. In Ethiopia, more than 90% of
agricultural raw materials were sourced locally in 2023,
up from <5% in 2018. Our barley development
programme entered its 12th year. The BOOST 2
project, with partners IFC and Soufflet Malteries,
was launched in order to expand malt barley
production to farmers in new regions of Ethiopia.
In August we completed our exit from Russia. While it
took much longer than we had hoped, the transaction
secured the livelihoods of our employees and allowed
us to exit the country in a responsible manner.
Following the divestment, the region was renamed
Africa Middle East (AME).
Barley varieties have now been approved for
commercial production in nine African countries and
COMESA added barley to its regional seed register.
Since 2020, the quantity of locally sourced barley has
increased by over 400% and malt has more than
tripled, allowing us to meet rising demand driven by
portfolio premiumisation. Despite these successes, a
structural shortage of African sugar is among the
challenges faced which requires continued imports.
The HEINEKEN Africa Foundation supports
communities in sub-Saharan Africa where HEINEKEN
operates. HAF refreshed its strategy to focus on
helping smallholder farmers thrive and build climate
resilience through regenerative farming. Pilot projects
were launched in Burundi and Ethiopia, investing
€2.7 million to empower around 40,000 smallholder
families by 2026.
Heineken
N.V.
Annual
Report
2023
Heineken®
volume
(2022: 6.4mhl)
Net revenue
(beia)
(2022: €4,005m)
Operating
profit (beia)
as of total
(2022: 12.6%)
Operating
profit (beia)
(2022: €554m)
Consolidated
beer volume
(2022: 39.2mhl)
Key brands:
Primus
Amstel Lager
Heineken®
Desperados
Maltina
in communities.
