Heineken half-year sales growth led by low and no beer

Heineken half-year sales have risen, bolstered by the low and no alcohol drinks segment.

In the first six months of 2026, the drinks group’s total sales by volume increased by 1.6% year on year, with premium beer up 6%, low and no up 12% and beyond beer (incorporating flavoured beer, cider, spritzers and ready to drink beverages) rising 8%.

The company’s five global premium beer brands - Amstel, Birra Moretti, Desperados, Heineken and Tiger - all performed well, with the latter returning to volume growth, driven by the acceleration of cold filtration brewed Tiger Crystal.

Operating profit grew 6.7%, with full year numbers expected to be between 2% and 6%.

In Europe, performance was broadly flat, with net revenue up just 0.1%, total volume down 0.6% and operating profit increasing by 0.6%.

UK results were driven by Cruzcampo, Murphy’s, Foster’s and ciders supporting momentum, while Heineken’s Star Pubs arm continued to outperform the wider pub market following a £44.5m investment across 647 pubs out of the group’s 2,350-strong estate this year.

The group is progressing at pace with its EverGreen 2030 strategic plan to accelerate growth, with measures including stepping up productivity through operating model simplification, implementing multi-market organisations and ‘a focused strategic head office transformation’.

These moves come in the wake of CEO and chairman of the executive board, Dolf van den Brink, leaving his role on 31 May 2026.

Rafael Oliveira will replace him on 1 October, joining from the same position at Jacobs Douwe Egberts Peet’s.

Harold van den Broek, CFO and member of the executive board, said Heineken’s performance “reflects the quality of our growth, the resilience of our advantaged footprint, and our ability to adapt and execute in a dynamic environment”.

“We took further significant steps to boost productivity and build future fit capabilities, ensuring we drive further growth efficiently. We are confident in our strategy and progress, yet remain prudent given ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty,” he added. “We look forward to welcoming Rafa Oliveira as chief executive officer on 1 October as we continue to deliver on EverGreen 2030 in the pursuit of sustainable value creation for all our stakeholders.”