KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 8): Heineken Malaysia Bhd's net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (3QFY22) doubled to RM108.74 million from RM51.02 million in the same period last year, mainly driven by improved revenue growth, besides efficient cost and value initiatives.

Earnings per share were up at 35.99 sen from 16.89 sen previously, the brewer's Bursa Malaysia filing on Tuesday (Nov 8) showed.

Quarterly revenue climbed 84.81% to RM720.47 million from RM389.85 million in the same period a year ago due to strong post-Covid-19 recovery following the reopening of international borders, increased on-trade consumption as well as positive mix impact from its premium portfolio growth.

Notably, the latest quarterly revenue of RM720.47 million is a fresh new record high for Heineken, beating its previous quarterly revenue record of RM698.33 million for 1QFY22.

For the cumulative first nine months ended Sept 30, 2022, Heineken's net profit surged 105.69% to RM308.19 million from RM149.83 million while revenue grew 60.32% to RM2.06 billion from RM1.29 billion.

Heineken said global inflation in prices of raw and packaging materials, increased costs of transportation and logistics coupled with volatility in foreign exchange rates have created substantial pressure on input costs as Heineken's product materials are largely imported. Hence, there has been a price adjustment on selected products to compensate for rising input costs.

Looking ahead, Heineken's managing director Roland Bala said the group continues to be cautious about the macroeconomic outlook. The market condition remains challenging given the continued pressure from global supply chain disruptions, recessionary pressure from leading economies, rising input costs, weakening ringgit and rising inflation that could impact consumers' purchasing power.

"[As such,] the group will remain agile in responding to the volatile business environment and the new market reality with focus on delivering our EverGreen strategy to future-proof the business and continue to invest behind our brands and capabilities," he said.

Additionally, Bala said Heineken welcomes the stance taken by the government not to increase excise duty on beers as any hike in excise rate will drive greater demand for illicit alcohol.

He noted that Malaysia's excise duty on beer is already the second highest in the world and the group remains committed to supporting the government in increasing awareness and increasing enforcement to stamp out illicit trade.

Heineken's share price finished 16 sen or 0.68% lower at RM23.44 on Tuesday, bringing the group a market capitalisation of RM7.08 billion.