Wet weather cuts Heineken profits

by ryan | August 29, 2007 at 08:40 am

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I don't know about this one, I sure did my part to help out, but it seems like my efforts to consume the beer in that nice green bottle just wasn't enough as Heineken has reported losses for the first half of 2007. The company blames an EU fine for alleged price fixing...and of course the weather. Apparently, people drink less beer when it's raining.

Heineken NV, the Dutch brewer that sells beer in more than 170 countries, said first-half profit fell 30 percent because of a European Union fine and lowered its forecast for U.S. sales of Premium Light.

Net income was 302 million euros ($410 million), or 62 cents a share, compared with 433 million euros, or 88 cents, a year earlier, the Amsterdam-based company said today in a statement. Sales rose 6.8 percent to 6.1 billion euros.

Heineken was fined 219 million euros in April for alleged price-fixing in the Netherlands between 1996 and 1999, and the brewer plans to appeal. The company said wet summer weather reduced European sales and forecast a loss for Premium Light because of ``stiffer'' competition.