PETALING JAYA: Heineken Malaysia Bhd
is eyeing opportunities from the increased tourism activities in the country, despite concerns on soft consumer sentiment for the time being.
Its managing director Martijn van Keulen in the presentation of the company’s 2Q financial performance said its results were mainly due to weaker consumer sentiment, which was in part affected by the continued external trade situation.
“The geopolitical situation is not helping especially with the talk on US-tariffs. Consumers are slowing down on the amount of money they’re willing to spend on luxury items. The first half was rife with some challenges - the strong Chinese New Year season this had started strongly but the consumer sentiment faded a little bit in March to May.
"Hopefully we will see consumer confidence returning eventually,” Martijn said.
Its finance director Jana Martine Hanneman said while the situation was difficult with the struggling consumer sentiment, the company was committed to sustaining a dividend payout.
“There was a slowdown in the consumer sentiment in the first half and the weaker consumer sentiment had hit us in our results - but despite this we are invested in the long term future of our company,” she said.
In 2QFY25, Heineken recorded a revenue of RM540mil which is a 5% year-on-year decrease compared to 2024 which the company says reflects a more cautious consumer sentiment.
The group’s net profit decreased by 9% to RM83mil in the said quarter from RM91mil in the same quarter a year earlier.
This was affected by the softer revenue and increased cost pressures, Heineken said.
