Heineken forecasts growth in 2015

London. – Heineken NV, the world’s third-largest brewer, forecast growth against a tough market backdrop in the year ahead after reporting higher revenue for 2014 and increasing its dividend. Sales and profit will advance this year, despite volatility in developing markets and price pressure elsewhere, the Amsterdam-based company said in a statement yesterday. Volume growth will slow compared with last year, when organic revenue expanded 2 percent, the beermaker also said.

“We view Heineken’s outlook as encouraging,” said Trevor Stirling, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein.

Heineken is expanding in emerging markets, where it generates nearly two-thirds of operating profit, and introducing new products such as lower alcohol brews to stoke growth.

The company has been fighting sluggish demand in western and central Europe and political turmoil in Russia with expansion in emerging markets such as Vietnam and Mexico.

Heineken shares advanced as much as 2,4 percent in Amsterdam trading. They traded 1,6 percent higher as of 9:27 a.m., giving the company a market value of 37,8 billion euros.

The Desperados brewer widened its payout to as much as 40 percent of profit before some items, up from a maximum of 35 percent. It will propose a total cash dividend of 1,10 euros a share for 2014.

Profit before some items rose 11 percent to 1,76 billion euros in 2014, compared with the 1,74 billion-euro average estimate compiled by Bloomberg.

Brewers such as Heineken, SABMiller Plc and Anheuser-Busch InBev NV have pursued growth through acquisitions in recent years as volume has declined in the US and Europe.

Heineken, which spurned an overture from SABMiller last year, bought control of its joint venture Asia Pacific Breweries in 2012.

Heineken gained control of the beer business of Mexico’s Femsa in 2010, which gave Femsa a 20 percent interest in the Dutch company. The lockup period on a sale of that stake ends in April, leading to speculation about its future.

Femsa has indicated that they “don’t expect fireworks after the first of May,” Chief Executive Officer Jean-Francois Van Boxmeer said in a telephone interview, adding that the speculation is “very entertaining.” – Bloomberg.