What Heineken is looking at
The brewer is rethinking wine's place in its South African portfolio and says the assessment spans all labels, among them Nederburg and JC Le Roux. Harold van den Broek, the company's chief financial officer, told analysts, "We are not making rash decisions on what to do, but we do have it under strategic review," and noted that the question of competing in certain wine segments "is an active discussion with our South Africa business." He did not specify what options are on the table or whether a sale is being considered.
Across South Africa, beer and ready-to-drink posted double-digit volume growth in the third quarter, even as wine stayed weak. "We are really working very hard to bring volumes back into our business in South Africa," Van den Broek said.
The Distell deal and the integration hangover
Heineken picked up the wine labels through its purchase of Distell Group Holdings Ltd., a deal struck in 2021 and closed in 2023. Heineken combined Distell and Namibia Breweries with its established South African business, forming Heineken Beverages, and upon closing, over 5,400 staff from Distell and Namibia Breweries came on board.
The goal was a wider drinks portfolio to better compete with Anheuser Busch InBev SA and Diageo Plc. Instead, the enlarged business ran into a complex integration and lost market share. In 2023, Heineken recorded a €491 million impairment, coming less than a year after completion, and then CEO Dolf van den Brink later acknowledged the company had "dropped the ball on a couple of commercial elements."
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New leadership, early read on momentum
Group volumes exceeded expectations in the third quarter, supported by strong beer demand in Asia and a recovery in the Americas. Heineken shares rose as much as 2.2% on the more upbeat update, though the company has lagged Carlsberg A/S and AB InBev in bouncing back from the post pandemic beer slump. Newly appointed outsider CEO Rafael Oliveira said the company "has strong foundations but we are not translating them into consistent growth and winning with consumers and customers as often as we should." He urged sharper execution, faster pace and stronger accountability, and said he will provide more detail at full year results.
What this means for your portfolio
The review lands three years after Heineken acquired the South African wine business and follows integration challenges, an impairment, and market share losses, even as beer and ready to drink are growing. Any decision could reshape capital focus within Heineken Beverages and signal how the company intends to stack up against AB InBev and Carlsberg. The bottom line: watch the full year update for Oliveira's plan and whether wine remains a strategic fit.
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