Heineken Holding N.V. reports 2020 full year results

Rhea-AI Summary

Heineken Holding N.V. reported a net loss of €102 million for 2020, with significant declines in both revenue and profits. Key figures include a net revenue drop of 11.9% (beia), a consolidated beer volume decrease of 8.1%, and an operating profit (beia) organic growth drop of 35.6%. The diluted EPS (beia) fell to €2.00, down 54.3% from 2019. In response to COVID-19, the company prioritized employee safety and community support while maintaining cash flow management. A cash dividend of €0.70 per share is proposed, representing a 58.3% decrease from the previous year.

Positive

• Heineken Holding N.V. maintained strong liquidity and cash flow management during the pandemic.
• The company supported its customers and communities with significant financial aid and operational adjustments.

Negative

• Net loss of €102 million for 2020 signifies serious financial challenges.
• Net revenue (beia) decreased by 11.9%; operating profit (beia) fell by 35.6%.
• Expected continuation of adverse market conditions into 2021.

Amsterdam, 10 February 2021 – Heineken Holding N.V. (EURONEXT: HEIO; OTCQX: HKHHY) announces:

• The net result of Heineken Holding N.V.'s participating interest in Heineken N.V. for 2020 amounts to – €102 million
• 2020 full year results highlights:
  • Net revenue (beia) organic growth -11.9%; per hectolitre -2.4%
  • Consolidated beer volume -8.1% organically
  • Heineken® volume resilient -0.4%
  • Operating profit (beia) organic growth -35.6%, margin 12.3% (-455 bps)
  • Net profit (beia) €1,154 million, -49.4% organically
  • Diluted EPS (beia) €2.00 (2019: €4.38)

FINANCIAL SUMMARY¹

IFRS Measures	€ million		Total growth			BEIA Measures	€ million	Organic growth2
Revenue	23,770		-16.7	%		Revenue (beia)	23,770	-11.3	%
Net revenue	19,715		-17.7	%		Net revenue (beia)	19,724	-11.9	%
Operating profit	778		-78.6	%		Operating profit (beia)	2,421	-35.6	%
						Operating profit (beia) margin (%)	12.3%
Net (loss) of Heineken Holding N.V.	(102)		-109.4	%		Net profit (beia)	1,154	-49.4	%
Diluted EPS (in €)	(0.36)		-109.5	%		Diluted EPS (beia) (in €)	2.00	-54.3	%
						Free operating cash flow	1,513
						Net debt / EBITDA (beia)3	3.4x

¹ Consolidated figures are used throughout this report, unless otherwise stated; please refer to the Glossary for an explanation of non-GAAP measures and other terms used throughout this report.
² Organic growth shown, except for Diluted EPS (beia) which is total growth.
³ Includes acquisitions and excludes disposals on a 12 month pro-forma basis

Heineken Holding N.V. engages in no activities other than its participating interest in Heineken N.V. and the management or supervision of and provision of services to that company.

UPDATE ON HEINEKEN'S RESPONSE TO COVID-19: NAVIGATING THE CRISIS WHILE BUILDING THE FUTURE

From the onset of the pandemic, people's health and safety has been HEINEKEN's highest priority. To support HEINEKEN employees in doing their jobs safely, HEINEKEN established robust COVID-19 preventive measures including working from home where possible, social distancing, strict personal hygiene and disinfection protocols, and providing adequate personal protective equipment.

HEINEKEN also supported its customers, suppliers and the communities most impacted by the pandemic. HEINEKEN assisted customers with advice, re-opening tools, stock returns and helped them set up online delivery. HEINEKEN supported them financially, for example, by waiving close to €50 million in rental payments. HEINEKEN raised over €10 million to support 50,000 outlets across 21 countries through its Back the Bars initiative. HEINEKEN continued to pay all suppliers on time and reduced payment terms to various small suppliers.

HEINEKEN provided twenty-three million Euros worth of pandemic relief to support front-line medical workers in the communities where it operates, including drinking water, non-alcoholic beverages, hand sanitiser, and monetary contributions. These included a €15 million donation to the International Red Cross. In Mexico, HEINEKEN announced a dry ice donation of 55 tons to help safely transport vaccines at low-temperatures. The de Carvalho-Heineken family together with their holding company donated €10 million to eight charities supporting the COVID-19 relief efforts.

HEINEKEN's people adapted quickly and took decisive actions to guarantee business continuity. HEINEKEN entered the crisis with a strong balance sheet and took immediate steps to strengthen its liquidity. HEINEKEN took action to swiftly reduce discretionary expenses and mitigate the impact on its business performance while protecting the future. The commercial teams reallocated resources across channels and brands, increasing their focus on off-trade customers. HEINEKEN accelerated the deployment of its e-commerce platforms, capitalising on digitalisation trends as consumers and customers shopped online. The supply chain teams demonstrated great agility to adapt to a radically different and volatile environment with excellent efficiency and minimum disruptions. As a result, HEINEKEN outperformed the market in most of HEINEKEN's key markets.

In parallel, HEINEKEN colleagues in support functions adapted quickly to working from home, produced timely rolling-forecasts to inform decisions and managed eight, remotely supported, deployments of its standardised ERP platforms in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.

Finally, HEINEKEN continued to shape its business for growth, with the entry into Peru, the acquisition of Strongbow in Australia, and the restructuring of the Philippines' business.

TOTAL DIVIDEND FOR 2020

The Heineken N.V. dividend policy is to pay a ratio of 30% to 40% of full year net profit (beia). For 2020, a total cash dividend of €0.70 per share, representing a decrease of 58.3% (2019: €1.68), and a payout ratio of 34.9%, in the middle of the range of the policy, will be proposed to the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of Heineken N.V. on 22 April 2021 ("2021 AGM"). If approved, the full dividend will be paid on 6 May 2021, as no interim dividend was paid during 2020. The payment will be subject to a 15% Dutch withholding tax. Due to the reported net loss in 2020, the proposed dividend will be paid out of the equity reserves.
If Heineken N.V. shareholders approve the proposed dividend, Heineken Holding N.V. will, according to its articles of association, pay an identical dividend per share. A final dividend of €0.70 per share of €1.60 nominal value will be payable as of 6 May 2021.
Both the Heineken Holding N.V. shares and the Heineken N.V. shares will trade ex-dividend on 26 April 2021.

2021 OUTLOOK STATEMENTS

Overall the COVID-19 pandemic and governments' measures continue to have a material impact on HEINEKEN's markets and business. 2021 started with many restrictions across HEINEKEN's markets, including on-trade closures and restrictions to travel. In Europe in particular, HEINEKEN estimates that at the end of January 2021, less than 30% of on-trade outlets were operating. Product and channel mix is expected to continue to adversely impact results, especially in Europe.

According to the World Health Organisation, the effect of vaccines on the pandemic will depend on several factors including their effectiveness, speed of their approval, manufacturing and delivery and the number of people getting vaccinated. As such, HEINEKEN expects the pandemic to continue to impact its business in the first half of 2021 and market conditions to gradually improve in the second part of the year.

Input costs per hectolitre are expected to be volatile due to channel and product mix effects. Based on HEINEKEN's hedged positions for 2021, HEINEKEN expects a significant higher negative transactional currency impact on input costs.

The EverGreen programme, a strategic review update, will be in full deployment. For more details reference is made to the Heineken N.V. press release of 10 February 2021.

Overall HEINEKEN expects revenue, operating profit and operating profit margin to stay below the level of 2019.

HEINEKEN also anticipates:

• An average effective interest rate (beia) broadly in line with 2020 (2020: 3.0%)
• Capital expenditure related to property, plant and equipment and intangible assets of around €1.8 billion (2020: €1.6 billion).
• The effective tax rate (beia) to stay above 2019 level due to the effect of fixed cost components in the tax line.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS COMPOSITION

Mr M. Das will have completed his four-year appointment term upon conclusion of the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of Heineken Holding N.V. on 22 April 2021. Mr M. Das is eligible for reappointment as non-executive member of the Board of Directors of Heineken Holding N.V. for a period of four years and a non-binding recommendation shall be submitted to the AGM in this respect.

Mr A.A.C. de Carvalho will have completed his four-year appointment term upon conclusion of the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of Heineken Holding N.V. on 22 April 2021.
Mr A.A.C. de Carvalho is eligible for reappointment as non-executive member of the Board of Directors of Heineken Holding N.V. for a period of four years and a non-binding recommendation shall be submitted to the AGM in this respect.

ENQUIRIES

Media Heineken Holding N.V.
Kees Jongsma
tel. +31 6 54 79 82 53
E-mail: cjongsma@spj.nl
Media	Investors
Sarah Backhouse	José Federico Castillo Martinez
Director of Global Communication	Investor Relations Director
Michael Fuchs	Janine Ackermann / Robin Achten
Financial Communications Manager	Investor Relations Manager / Senior Analyst
E-mail: pressoffice@heineken.com	E-mail: investors@heineken.com
Tel: +31-20-5239355	Tel: +31-20-5239590

INVESTOR CALENDAR HEINEKEN N.V.

(events also accessible for Heineken Holding N.V. shareholders)

Combined financial and sustainability annual report publication	19 February 2021
Trading Update for Q1 2021	21 April 2021
Annual General Meeting of Shareholders	22 April 2021
Half Year 2021 Results	02 August 2021
Quotation ex-interim dividend 2021	04 August 2021
Interim dividend payable	11 August 2021
Trading Update for Q3 2021	27 October 2021

CONFERENCE CALL DETAILS

HEINEKEN will host an analyst and investor video webcast about its 2020 FY results combined with an update on the on-going strategic review at 14:00 CET/ 13:00 GMT/ 08.00 EST. This call will also be accessible for Heineken Holding N.V. shareholders. The live video webcast will be accessible via the Heineken N.V.’s website: https://www.theheinekencompany.com/investors/results-reports-webcasts-and-presentations. An audio replay service will also be made available after the webcast at the above web address. Analysts and investors can dial-in using the following telephone numbers:

United Kingdom (Local): 020 3936 2999

Netherlands: 085 888 7233

USA: 1 646 664 1960

All other locations: +44 20 3936 2999

Participation password for all countries: 293180

Editorial information:
Heineken Holding N.V. engages in no activities other than its participating interest in Heineken N.V. and the management or supervision of and provision of services to that company.
HEINEKEN is the world's most international brewer. It is the leading developer and marketer of premium and non-alcoholic beer and cider brands. Led by the Heineken® brand, the Group has a portfolio of more than 300 international, regional, local and specialty beers and ciders. HEINEKEN is committed to innovation, long-term brand investment, disciplined sales execution and focused cost management. Through "Brewing a Better World", sustainability is embedded in the business. HEINEKEN has a well-balanced geographic footprint with leadership positions in both developed and developing markets. HEINEKEN employs over 84,000 employees and operates breweries, malteries, cider plants and other production facilities in more than 70 countries. Heineken Holding N.V. and Heineken N.V. shares trade on the Euronext in Amsterdam. Prices for the ordinary shares may be accessed on Bloomberg under the symbols HEIO NA and HEIA NA and on Reuters under HEIO.AS and HEIN.AS . HEINEKEN has two sponsored level 1 American Depositary Receipt (ADR) programmes: Heineken Holding N.V. (OTCQX: HKHHY) and Heineken N.V. (OTCQX: HEINY). Most recent information is available on the websites: www.heinekenholding.com and www.theHEINEKENcompany.com and follow HEINEKEN on Twitter via @HEINEKENCorp.

Market Abuse Regulation:
This press release may contain price-sensitive information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation.

Disclaimer:
This press release contains forward-looking statements with regard to the financial position and results of HEINEKEN’s activities. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond HEINEKEN’s ability to control or estimate precisely, such as future market and economic conditions, developments in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and related government measures, the behaviour of other market participants, changes in consumer preferences, the ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses and achieve anticipated synergies, costs of raw materials, interest-rate and exchange-rate fluctuations, changes in tax rates, changes in law, change in pension costs, the actions of government regulators and weather conditions. These and other risk factors are detailed in HEINEKEN’s publicly filed annual reports. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only of the date of this press release. HEINEKEN does not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Market share estimates contained in this press release are based on outside sources, such as specialised research institutes, in combination with management estimates.

Attachment

• Heineken Holding NV 2020 Full Year results press release

FAQ

What was Heineken Holding N.V.'s net profit for 2020?

Heineken Holding N.V. reported a net loss of €102 million for 2020.

How did Heineken Holding N.V.'s revenue change in 2020?

The company experienced a net revenue decrease of 11.9% (beia) in 2020.

What is the proposed dividend for Heineken Holding N.V. in 2021?

Heineken Holding N.V. proposed a cash dividend of €0.70 per share for 2021.

What are the expectations for Heineken Holding N.V. in 2021?

Heineken anticipates continued adverse market conditions and expects results to stay below 2019 levels.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact Heineken Holding N.V. financially?

The pandemic resulted in a significant drop in revenue and profits, leading to a reported net loss.