Heineken Malaysia Bhd said it will not be affected by the 6,000 global job cuts announced by its parent company, Heineken NV, despite reporting a slight decline in its financial year 2025 (FY2025) net profit.
Managing director Martijn van Keulen said the layoffs primarily involve the group’s headquarters and European operations, and do not impact Malaysia.
Heineken NV recently announced plans to reduce about 7% of its global workforce as it faces weaker beer demand amid rising prices and more moderate alcohol consumption.
For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2025, Heineken Malaysia posted a 2% decline in net profit to RM459.3 million from RM466.7 million a year earlier. Revenue remained unchanged at RM2.8 billion.
The lower earnings were mainly due to the absence of a one-off reinvestment tax allowance that boosted FY2024 results. Excluding this one-time benefit, underlying profit would have risen about 4% to RM607.7 million. The company said cost management efforts helped support profitability despite flat revenue growth.
The board declared a final dividend of RM1.12 per share, bringing total dividends for FY2025 to RM1.52 per share, representing a 100% payout ratio. This translates to a dividend yield of 6.6%, the highest since the pandemic.
In the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2025, revenue increased 2%, partly driven by the excise duty hike in November 2025. Net profit was flat year-on-year due to the absence of the tax allowance benefit. On an underlying basis, fourth-quarter profit would have increased about 8%.
Looking ahead, the company expects operating conditions to remain challenging due to macroeconomic uncertainty, inflationary pressures and the impact of higher excise duties on consumer spending.
Van Keulen said the company will focus on productivity improvements, operational efficiency, portfolio and channel optimisation, and accelerating digital transformation to sustain long-term growth.
Heineken Malaysia is transitioning from its EverGreen 2025 strategy to a new five-year plan, EverGreen 2030, which will prioritise brand growth and innovation, cost efficiency, and becoming future-ready through digitalisation, sustainability and a performance-driven culture.
The stock closed 1.25% lower at RM23.70, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM7.16 billion.
