Heineken sold more beer in the first three months of 2014, with a pick-up in Africa, especially Nigeria where beer volumes grew by a double-digit percentage in the first three months of 2014, the Americas and some of Europe.
The world’s third largest brewer recorded a flat Asia and weakness in Russia.
The brewer of Europe’s best-selling Heineken lager, Sol, Tiger and Strongbow cider said on Thursday it was encouraged by a positive start to the year in Africa and the Americas and its sharper European business.
“This is offsetting continued challenging beer market conditions in Russia and softer consumer spending in Vietnam,” Chief Executive Jean-Francois van Boxmeer said in a statement, adding that economic conditions as a whole were mixed.
Heineken shares were trading up 1.0 percent at 51.68 euros at 0715 GMT, making them among the stronger performers in the a largely flat STOXX European food and beverage index.
“Volumes were a bit weaker than expected, revenue broadly in line. Regionally, Africa was very strong, Americas pretty solid and western Europe having an easy comparison,” said Trevor Stirling, beverage analyst at Bernstein. “The bears will look at Asia-Pacific, the bulls at Africa.”
The Dutch brewer said consolidated beer volumes rose 1.5 percent on a like-for-like basis to 38.2 million hectolitres. Consolidated revenue was up 3.4 percent to 4.04 billion euros ($5.59 billion).
Heineken, the largest seller of beer in Europe, repeated its forecast that revenue should grow in 2014 on a like-for-like basis and excluding currency effects. It grew by just 0.1 percent in 2013.
Heineken suffered a year ago from an exceptionally long winter in northern Europe making people less inclined to drink, a 160 percent increase in beer duty in France and a slowdown in Nigeria, one of its major growth markets where high inflation hit disposable income.
In the first three months of 2014, Heineken said beer volumes grew by a double-digit percentage in Nigeria and by 8.7 percent as a whole in Africa.
Beer volumes also grew, by a more modest 2.1 percent in western Europe, with increases in the France, the Netherlands, Spain, Ireland and Belgium, but declines in Britain, Italy and Switzerland.
Heineken also benefited from price increases in Brazil and Mexico.
However, in Asia, a reliable source of growth in recent years, volumes were stable, with declines in India, Malaysia, Taiwan and large market Vietnam, where currency weakness and economic slowdown hit.
Russia, with sales down by a mid-teen percentage after yet another excise increase, also dragged down earnings in eastern Europe.
Heineken, like brewing rivals, has sought to increase its emerging market presence to tap higher growth, while hiking prices in developed markets. It bought the brewing operations of Mexico’s Femsa in 2010 and took full control of Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) in 2012.
About 60 percent of operating profit now comes from emerging markets, on a par with rival Anheuser-Busch InBev ABI.BR, from 40 percent in 2007, although emerging markets are less reliable growth engines, with a number suffering growing pains in recent months.
SABMiller, the world’s second largest beer maker, reported a modest 2 percent increase in volumes in the year to the end of March, with political and economic issues and a tax hike causing problems in some African nations.
Business Day
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
50 dead in attack in Taraba, Nigeria
Wukari—Daring gunmen, yesterday, defied the dusk-to-dawn curfew and attacked Gidan Aku community on the outskirts of Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State, killing no fewer than 50 persons and injuring many others.
The attackers, armed with sophisticated weapons allegedly came from Nasarawa State through the plains of Benue River and descended on their victims while the residents were asleep.
According to a lawyer in the community, Luka Agbu, the “attackers were very hostile to us and did not spare even children or the aged.
“The attackers shot at people and burnt houses at the same time without any intervention by the security forces. We are helpless here and we plead with the Federal Government to deploy special troops to rescue us from this unfortunate and deadly attacks.
“Our people are being killed by gunmen, we are losing property on a daily basis. What kind of a country is this?” Agbu queried.
But as the dust began to settle, a contingent of soldiers and anti-riot policemen were drafted to Wukari community to contain the situation although most of the community members had deserted the area for fear of further attacks.
In the meantime, acting Governor of Taraba State, Garba Umar, has warned the people of the state to desist from politicising the current spate of violence and join hands with government in finding a lasting solution.
Addressing journalists Wednesday, Umar said that the lingering insurgency in four local government areas of the state was not peculiar to Taraba but was a national crisis affecting no fewer than 15 states of the federation.
While regretting that the attacks have seriously affected the state, Umar announced the deployment of 50 more soldiers from Yola to assist the ones on the ground in quelling rising violent attacks in the state.
“Information available shows that the insurgents came from Nasarawa State and they camped at the Coast of River Benue close to Ibi”, the governor said.
“We have deployed 50 soldiers from Yola to add to the troops on the ground who were deployed from Serti and Takum and with a reasonable number of policemen on the ground, we hope the situation would improve.
“We have concluded arrangements on how to visit the internally displaced persons and render immediate succour to them. That is why we have dispatched 28 trailers laden with relief materials to the affected LGAs.
‘I have ordered that despite the curfew in Wukari, the General Hospital there should be open for the treatment of the victims of the crisis. The 24-hour curfew earlier imposed in the area had been relaxed and would be in force from 12 noon to 6 a.m.,” the governor said.
“We remain committed to the security and well being of the public. Unfortunately some people are using these security challenges to achieve political goals. Security of our dear state is too sensitive to play politics with,” he said.
The Acting Governor sympathised with four women who delivered at the Mutum-Biyu refugee camp and promised that government would render free treatment to every victim of the attacks in the area.
….Ambush motorists, kill 2 APC leaders.
Meanwhile, gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists have shot dead the Kala/Balge council chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Modu Janga and the party’s youth leader, Alhaji Abba near Mafa town on the Maiduguri-Dikwa Road.
The deceased were returning to Gudumbali from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, when their vehicle was ambushed near Mafa town.
According to an eyewitness and resident of Mafa, Babagana Usman Mafa, “the insurgents blocked the road with wood and tree branches, after identifying occupants of the vehicle, the gunmen shot them on the spot, and fled towards Dikwa, a border town with Cameroon.
“The party chairman alongside other passengers in the ambushed vehicle, were first stopped by flagging down the driver for identification, before three gunmen on motorcycle shot dead two people at close range; and fled towards Dikwa,” Usmani said in a telephone chat Wednesday in Maiduguri.
He said the gunmen did not rob the party officials, as their vehicle was abandoned at the scene of the incident, adding that the road was also closed for two hours by soldiers and policemen to prevent further attacks.
On whether other vehicles were ambushed during the attack, he said: “These gunmen could have targeted the APC officials returning to the council area of Kala/Balge, before they were ambushed on that road leading to Gudumbali, the council headquarters.”
Council chairman of Kala/Balge, Alhaji Alifa Bukar Rann confirmed the incident, yesterday, in Maiduguri. He said: “Two officials of APC were shot dead near Mafa town while returning to Gudumbali for party official engagements”.
When contacted for confirmation over the incident, yesterday, in Maiduguri, the Borno State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Gideon Jibrin’s phone number could not be reached, but a security source who is not authorized to speak on the matter said “armed hoodlums ambushed a vehicle on Dikwa Road on Monday; and two people were feared dead, before the security agents closed the road for two hours to prevent further attacks”.
Vanguard
The attackers, armed with sophisticated weapons allegedly came from Nasarawa State through the plains of Benue River and descended on their victims while the residents were asleep.
According to a lawyer in the community, Luka Agbu, the “attackers were very hostile to us and did not spare even children or the aged.
“The attackers shot at people and burnt houses at the same time without any intervention by the security forces. We are helpless here and we plead with the Federal Government to deploy special troops to rescue us from this unfortunate and deadly attacks.
“Our people are being killed by gunmen, we are losing property on a daily basis. What kind of a country is this?” Agbu queried.
But as the dust began to settle, a contingent of soldiers and anti-riot policemen were drafted to Wukari community to contain the situation although most of the community members had deserted the area for fear of further attacks.
In the meantime, acting Governor of Taraba State, Garba Umar, has warned the people of the state to desist from politicising the current spate of violence and join hands with government in finding a lasting solution.
Addressing journalists Wednesday, Umar said that the lingering insurgency in four local government areas of the state was not peculiar to Taraba but was a national crisis affecting no fewer than 15 states of the federation.
While regretting that the attacks have seriously affected the state, Umar announced the deployment of 50 more soldiers from Yola to assist the ones on the ground in quelling rising violent attacks in the state.
“Information available shows that the insurgents came from Nasarawa State and they camped at the Coast of River Benue close to Ibi”, the governor said.
“We have deployed 50 soldiers from Yola to add to the troops on the ground who were deployed from Serti and Takum and with a reasonable number of policemen on the ground, we hope the situation would improve.
“We have concluded arrangements on how to visit the internally displaced persons and render immediate succour to them. That is why we have dispatched 28 trailers laden with relief materials to the affected LGAs.
‘I have ordered that despite the curfew in Wukari, the General Hospital there should be open for the treatment of the victims of the crisis. The 24-hour curfew earlier imposed in the area had been relaxed and would be in force from 12 noon to 6 a.m.,” the governor said.
“We remain committed to the security and well being of the public. Unfortunately some people are using these security challenges to achieve political goals. Security of our dear state is too sensitive to play politics with,” he said.
The Acting Governor sympathised with four women who delivered at the Mutum-Biyu refugee camp and promised that government would render free treatment to every victim of the attacks in the area.
….Ambush motorists, kill 2 APC leaders.
Meanwhile, gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists have shot dead the Kala/Balge council chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Modu Janga and the party’s youth leader, Alhaji Abba near Mafa town on the Maiduguri-Dikwa Road.
The deceased were returning to Gudumbali from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, when their vehicle was ambushed near Mafa town.
According to an eyewitness and resident of Mafa, Babagana Usman Mafa, “the insurgents blocked the road with wood and tree branches, after identifying occupants of the vehicle, the gunmen shot them on the spot, and fled towards Dikwa, a border town with Cameroon.
“The party chairman alongside other passengers in the ambushed vehicle, were first stopped by flagging down the driver for identification, before three gunmen on motorcycle shot dead two people at close range; and fled towards Dikwa,” Usmani said in a telephone chat Wednesday in Maiduguri.
He said the gunmen did not rob the party officials, as their vehicle was abandoned at the scene of the incident, adding that the road was also closed for two hours by soldiers and policemen to prevent further attacks.
On whether other vehicles were ambushed during the attack, he said: “These gunmen could have targeted the APC officials returning to the council area of Kala/Balge, before they were ambushed on that road leading to Gudumbali, the council headquarters.”
Council chairman of Kala/Balge, Alhaji Alifa Bukar Rann confirmed the incident, yesterday, in Maiduguri. He said: “Two officials of APC were shot dead near Mafa town while returning to Gudumbali for party official engagements”.
When contacted for confirmation over the incident, yesterday, in Maiduguri, the Borno State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Gideon Jibrin’s phone number could not be reached, but a security source who is not authorized to speak on the matter said “armed hoodlums ambushed a vehicle on Dikwa Road on Monday; and two people were feared dead, before the security agents closed the road for two hours to prevent further attacks”.
Vanguard
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Video - Number of kidnapped girls revised to at least 230
Nigerian officials revised the number of girls abducted by the muslim terror group Boko Haram.
Related stories: Boko Haram abduct 100 schoolgirls from boarding school in North Eastern Nigeria
Monday, April 21, 2014
Video - Challenges for Nigeria's security
Nigeria is currently facing serious security challenges. Since the beginning of this year, about 1,500 people have been killed in the Boko Haram insurgency, in the country's northeast. The insurgency which began in 2009 is not showing any sign of abating despite several measures the government has taken to end it. The crisis has now put Nigeria in the frontline of states battling terrorism. But is Africa's most populous country doing enough to stem the tide?
Related stories: Video - Bomb blast in Abuja kills 71
Boko Haram abduct 100 schoolgirls from boarding school in North Eastern Nigeria
Video - Low key easter celebrations in Nigeria
Five days after the blast that killed at least 74 people at a bus terminal in Nigeria"s capital Abuja, the Easter celebrations were low key, with a high security presence. Soldiers mounted checkpoints at major junctions, hotels and churches. Even at fun spots, which are crowded on public holidays, the turnout was relatively scanty and even those, who dared to have a good time, made it clear they were taking a risk. However, children managed to have a good time in spite of the security situation.
Related story: Video - Bomb blast in Abuja kills 71
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