Heineken Brewing giant's profits drained in 2016 by currency turmoil

The Amsterdam-based brewery said profits had dropped 18.6 percent to 1.54 billion euros ($1.62 billion).

Dutch brewing giant Heineken on Wednesday reported a slump in profits in 2016 amid "volatile" economic conditions and currency turmoil.

The Amsterdam-based brewery, which is the world's number two brewer, said profits had dropped 18.6 percent to 1.54 billion euros ($1.62 billion).

Global sales were only slightly up by 1.4 percent to 20.8 billion euros -- although revenue growth was slightly better at 4.8 percent when comparable figures were considered.

In 2017 "economic conditions are expected to remain volatile and Heineken has assumed a negative impact from currency comparable to 2016," the company said in a statement.

Founded in the 19th century, Heineken produces and sells more than 250 brands including Desperados tequila-flavoured beer, Sol and Strongbow cider. It employs about 73,000 people around the world.

The company stressed its 2015 profits had been inflated due to the 1.2 billion euro sale of its Mexican packaging arm Empaque.

Stripping out that one-off effect, net profits actually rose 2.5 percent to 2.1 billion euros, Heineken said.

"Our unique diversified footprint was again a competitive advantage ... despite more challenging economic conditions in some developing markets and significant currency pressures," CEO Jean-Francois van Boxmeer said.

Performance "in key European markets was good and results in Vietnam and Mexico were strong," he added in a statement.

However in "Africa, Middle East and Eastern Europe market conditions remained tough" especially in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Russia.

Globally, there has been fervent consolidation in the brewing industry.

In October, the world's biggest brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev, makers of Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois, confirmed the sale of major businesses in Africa, Europe and Asia as it completed the mega-takeover of rival SABMiller.

The new company, which emerged from the historic tie-up, has cemented its dominant position as the world's top beer maker, and is called AB InBev.

The beer market is also evolving to focus on artisan brews, leading to smaller "microbreweries" that focus on quality rather than quantity.

Heineken said it was proposing a 1.34 euro dividend per share, up slightly from 1.30 euros in 2015.

"Excluding major unforeseen macro economic and political developments as well as the impact of the proposed acquisitions in Brazil and in the UK, we expect continued margin expansion in 2017," Van Boxmeer added.

Japanese brewery Kirin announced on Monday that it would sell its Brazilian unit to Heineken for $706 million citing "a stagnant and competitive" market.

Kirin has concluded "there are certain limitations in transforming Brasil Kirin into a sustainable and high-profitable business on its own," it said in a statement.

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Volkswagen Auto maker defies 'dieselgate' to boost sales in 2016

The scandal, quickly dubbed 'dieselgate' by global media, tarnished VW's reputation and sapped sales.

Scandal-hit German carmaker Volkswagen said Monday it increased sales in 2016, despite strong headwinds after it admitted to cheating on regulatory emissions tests for millions of vehicles.

VW said it had delivered 5.99 million vehicles last year, up 2.8 percent over 2015.

While sales in the Americas and western Europe fell sharply, the German auto giant made inroads in Asia, especially China, it said in a statement.

Under pressure from US authorities, VW admitted in September 2015 to installing "defeat devices" -- designed to reduce cars' emissions of harmful nitrogen oxide when the software detected they were undergoing regulatory tests -- in 11 million vehicles worldwide.

The scandal, quickly dubbed 'dieselgate' by global media, tarnished VW's reputation and sapped sales.

In the latest damaging development, The New York Times on Monday said FBI agents had arrested Oliver Schmidt, an executive who led VW's regulatory compliance office in 2014-15, on conspiracy charges.

With the scandal impacting the US market in particular, VW sales there fell 7.6 percent in 2016, while across South America the company shipped almost 27 percent fewer vehicles.

Western Europe recorded a more moderate fall of 2.0 percent, including a 7.2 percent decline in home market Germany.

The carmaker however increased sales in Asia by 11.8 percent, including a 14-percent boost in China, while central and eastern Europe reported a 6.9-percent increase.

Scandal far from over

Customers in 2016 had "remained loyal to us in challenging times," said Juergen Stackmann, head of VW brand sales.

Nonetheless, the scandal appears far from over for VW.

Citing anonymous souces, the NYT said Schmidt would be arraigned in a Detroit court on Monday.

It said lawsuits filed against VW by the states of New York and Massachusetts accused Schmidt of playing a key role in efforts to conceal the emissions cheating from US regulators.

Contacted by AFP, VW said it was continuing to cooperate with the US justice department over the scandal but refused to comment on the reported arrest.

"It would not be appropriate to comment on any ongoing investigation or to discuss personnel matters," a spokesman told AFP.

Last week, the paper said the firm was close to agreeing a $2.0-billion fine with the justice department over the scandal.

VW has already agreed to settle US civil claims for a total of $15.7 billion.

Across the Atlantic, European authorities have pressured the car giant to compensate EU customers.

And in Germany, lawmakers have set up a committee of inquiry to probe how much government leaders -- including Chancellor Angela Merkel and several ministers -- knew about the emissions cheating.

Beleaguered Volkswagen in November announced a massive restructuring that will see it shift towards producing electric vehicles over the coming years, as well as slashing 30,000 jobs by 2020.

The VW group will publish sales figures for all 12 of its brands later this week.

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National Bureau of Statistics Nigeria economy shrinks by 2.2% in Q3

"The nation's gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by -2.24% year-on-year," the country's National Bureau of Statistics said

Nigeria's economy contracted in the third quarter as businesses struggled to access foreign exchange and rebels continued to bomb oil pipelines in the restive south, official data showed Monday.

"The nation's gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by -2.24% year-on-year," the country's National Bureau of Statistics said.

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