Heineken profit rises 10.2% before CEO change

Heineken said net profit rose 10.2% on a like-for-like basis in the first half of the year to 1.26 billion euros, or $1.45 billion, as the brewer continues restructuring before a new chief executive arrives in October.

Overall sales by volume, including beer, cider and other drinks, rose 1.6% in the first half. The company said growth in Asia-Pacific and in Africa and the Middle East more than offset a decline in the Americas.

The results followed a first-quarter slowdown and the surprise departure of chief executive Dolf van den Brink in January. Heineken said in June that Rafael Oliveira, a Brazilian former executive at coffee company JDE Peet's, would replace him.

The brewer is cutting jobs as part of an effort to improve sales and profitability. Up to 6,000 of its roughly 85,000 jobs are due to be cut over the next two years.

Chief financial officer Harold van den Broek said the restructuring was an enterprise-wide effort and that the company was not giving a specific regional breakdown. Heineken reiterated its forecast for full-year operating profit growth of 2% to 6%, after a 6.7% rise in the first half.

Van den Broek said Heineken was confident in its strategy and progress but remained prudent because of macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty.