Amsterdam  - Dutch beer brewer Heineken is to embark on a major cost-saving operation that may include cutting jobs, the company said after releasing its annual results on Wednesday.

Turnover in 2008 amounted to 14.3 billion euros (18.06 billion dollars), 27 per cent more than in 2007. The company made an operational profit for special expenses of 1.93 billion euros, 11 per cent more than in the previous year.

But while British brewer Scottish & Newcastle contributed substantially to Heineken's turnover, the Dutch brewer said it still suffered from a collapse of the British beer market in 2008.

As a result, the company's net profit in 2008 was 1.01 billion euros, substantially lower than in 2007. The brewer said it would pay shareholders 0.62 euros per share for
2008.

Heineken, which sold 161.5 million hectolitres of beer in 2008, said people in the United States and Western Europe drank less beer due to the economic crisis.

But in emerging markets like Africa and Asia, Heineken increased its sales.

"In the face of deteriorating economic conditions, we have delivered a strong organic profit growth ahead of our forecast," said Jean-Francois van Boxmeer, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO. He added that while Heineken's business was "robust", the company was "not immune from the challenges posed by the global economic downturn.

Therefore, we have in place a rigorous, company-wide focus on cash generation and cost reduction."

Financial manager René Hooft Graafland declined to predict when the economic tide would improve. "Who knows; in any case we will not sit back and wait for it," he said.

Hooft Graaftland said Heineken would launch a major cost-saving operation.

Expenditure is to be cut by 400 million euros in 2009. The company will restructure its divisions and adjust its prices.

The special measures would most likely also result in job cuts, although Heineken refrained from giving any specific numbers.

"We do not exclude any possibility - but we will first inform our employees," Hooft Graaftland said. (dpa)