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Heineken N.V. Amsterdam, 30 May 2008 - Heineken N.V. announced today an investment in its breweries in France and a reorganisation of its production units in order to drive efficiency improvements. The reorganisation will further focus Heineken's business in France on the branded and growing premium segments of the market.
The reorganisation includes:
- An investment of EUR 124 million over the next three years to upgrade the breweries in Mons-en-Baroeul (North of France), Schiltigheim (Alsace) and Marseille
- The closure of Brasserie Fischer in Schiltigheim by the end of 2009 and the gradual transfer of its production to the l'Espérance brewery in Schiltigheim
- The sale of the Saint Omer brewery, the non-branded beer business The exceptional restructuring costs associated to the reorganization will be charged to the 2008 and 2009 consolidated profit and loss accounts and will be recovered in 3 years after completion of the program. For 2008, these restructuring costs are included in the F2F program. For 2009, Heineken forecasts additional assets write-off of approximately EUR 20 million, which will be treated as exceptional items.
It is expected that the total reorganisation will lead to 126 job losses in Alsace and 62 in Mons-en-Baroeul by the end of 2010. Heineken will collaborate with the trade unions to offer impacted staff a sound social support programme. Regarding the sale of the Saint Omer brewery, negotiations are under way with its former owner and current chairman. This transaction will not impact current jobs or activities of the Saint Omer brewery.
Following the sale of the Saint Omer brewery and the closure of the Fischer brewery, Heineken in France will own three breweries with a capacity of over six million hectolitres.
Editorial information Heineken N.V. is the most international brewer in the world. The Heineken brand is sold in almost every country in the world and the Company owns over 115 breweries in more than 65 countries. In 2007, Group beer volume amounted to 139 million hectolitres and ranks Heineken fourth in the world beer market by volume. Heineken strives for an excellent sustainable financial performance through marketing a portfolio of strong local and international brands with the emphasis on the Heineken brand, through a carefully selected combination of broad and segment leadership positions and through a continuous focus on cost control. In 2007, revenue amounted to EUR12.6 billion and Net Profit before exceptional items and amortisation of brands amounted to EUR1.1 billion. Heineken employs 54,000 people. Heineken N.V. and Heineken Holding N.V. shares are listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange. Prices for the ordinary shares may be accessed on Bloomberg under the symbols HEIA NA and HEIO NA and on the Reuter Equities 2000 Service under HEIN.AS and HEIO.AS. Additional information is available on Heineken's home page: http://www.heinekeninternational.com.
