Heineken has recorded a 19.8% increase in Q3 net revenue before exceptional items and amortisation but cautioned that it is seeing “some signs of softness in consumer demand”.

Higher prices and consumers trading up to more expensive products helped drive the net revenue growth, with beer volumes rising less steeply – by 8.9% on a like-for-like basis. This lagged behind the average market expectation of 12%, according to Reuters.

In its half-year results, Heineken warned that mounting pressure on consumer finances could impact beer sales, and the company today said that it had seen signs of a slowdown in demand in some European markets over recent weeks.

The world’s second-largest brewer benefitted from a strong recovery in the Asia-Pacific region from the Covid-related restrictions seen last year, with beer volumes up by 68.4% on an organic basis.

Meanwhile, beer volumes grew organically by 1.3% in Europe, wher sales were boosted by the warm weather seen in some countries during the quarter.

“Our business delivered solid results in the third quarter across all regions, and in particular Asia Pacific has had a strong post-Covid recovery,” said Heineken CEO and chairman, Dolf van den Brink. 

“Our premium portfolio outperformed, led by Tiger and Heineken, including the rollout of Heineken Silver. We maintain our efforts to price responsibly, offsetting input cost inflation. We are well underway to deliver €1.7 billion gross savings on our productivity programme by the end of this year, while continuing to invest behind our brands and capabilities. 

“We increasingly see reasons to be cautious on the macroeconomic outlook, including some signs of softness in consumer demand.”

The company’s full-year expectations are unchanged.