Amsterdam, 26 October 2011 - HEINEKEN N.V. today announced its trading update for the third quarter of 2011. In the quarter:

On an organic[1] basis, revenue grew 3.0% driven by higher volumes and improved price and sales mix;
Higher marketing investment supported total consolidated volume and consolidated beer volume organic growth of 1.1% and 2.2%, respectively;
Volume of the Heineken® brand in the international premium segment increased 4%, outperforming group beer volumes, supported by the continued success of the global brand campaign 'Open Your World';
Organically, EBIT (beia) was lower, primarily due to higher planned costs;
Reaffirm outlook for full year 2011 net profit (beia) to be broadly in line with last year, on an organic basis;
The share repurchase programme in connection with the acquisition of FEMSA Cerveza has been completed ahead of schedule.
[1] An explanation of key volume and financial terms used are provided under the heading "Definitions'' at the end of this update.

Financial Results

During the quarter, revenue grew 0.6% to €4,645 million, including a positive first time consolidation impact of €32 million, or 0.7%, mainly related to the acquired breweries in Nigeria in January 2011. Foreign currency movements contributed to a negative translational effect on revenues of 3.1% in the quarter. This primarily reflects devaluation of the Nigerian naira, Polish zloty, British pound and Mexican peso versus the euro reporting currency. On an organic basis, revenue grew 3.0%, reflecting a positive volume effect of 0.5% (including the impact of country mix) and improved price and sales mix of 2.5%.

On an organic basis, EBIT (beia) was lower in the quarter. While revenues increased and ongoing TCM cost savings were realised, the effect of poor weather in July and early August resulted in negative operational leverage in Europe. In addition, higher planned marketing spend, upfront capability building investments in Commerce and Business Services and a low single-digit increase in input costs per hectolitre reduced profit. In the quarter, a slight positive consolidation scope impact was more than offset by an adverse translational effect from foreign currency movements.

HEINEKEN's share of net profit of associates and joint ventures grew substantially, driven by strong performances of the Asia Pacific Breweries and South African joint venture operations. There were no exceptional costs in the quarter. Reported net profit in the quarter was €525 million, broadly in line with the prior year.

Full Year Outlook

HEINEKEN confirms its earlier outlook for net profit (beia) to be broadly in line with last year, on an organic basis. The Company reaffirms its previous cost synergy target, related to the acquisition of FEMSA Cerveza, of €150 million by the end of 2013. The Company reiterates its estimate of an average interest rate of around 5.5% and does not expect material changes to the effective tax rate (beia) in 2011 (2010: 27.3%).