Heineken's beer sales volumes rose by 8.3 per cent for the period ending 30 June.
Operating profit before exceptional items rose 26.8 per cent to €906m in organic terms as a result, though fell 14.5 per cent following a €219m fine imposed by the EU for breaching the bloc's competition laws.
The company's increasing focus on cost efficiency in its operations have kept it in line for full year savings of €135m to €155m, the group said.
This has led to the brewer lowering forecasts for restructuring charges for the three years between 2005 to 2008 to a range of between €250m and €300m from previous estimates of between €325m to €375m.
Group chief executive officer Jean-François van Boxmeer, said the strategy had already begun to pay off for the company.
"In the first six months of 2007, we have shown that our drive to develop a performance driven culture within Heineken is making excellent progress," he stated. "Even when taking into account the exceptional and favourable weather patterns experienced in Europe in the first half, we have delivered growth ahead of expectation."
Innovation in the group's operations, through new product launches like its take home keg system, were highlighted as an important contributor to growth, though the company added that it faced some difficulties in the second half of the year.
The brewer said it expected higher purchasing prices to lead to increased input costs for the full year by eight per cent, with the majority of the impact in the next six months.
Through Heineken's regional operations, Western Europe remained the major contributor for growth, with revenue up by 1.9 per cent in organic terms to €2.7bn.
The company attributed this growth to strong sales in Spain, Italy, Ireland and the UK, offsetting lower volumes of its brands in the French market between January and April.
The group's core Heineken brand drove a 9.1 per cent rise in volumes for the premium beer segment. These increases was partially offset by the effects of heavy rain on sales during June, Heineken added.
In Central and Eastern Europe, revenue for the period reached €1.7bn, an organic rise of 11.8 per cent. Profits were up by 33.6 per cent for the division to €207m, partly on the growing economic strength of new EU member states.
The growth was further cemented by strong volume increases in key markets like Russia,
Poland, Romania and Greece, the group said. Heineken added that it had moved to further improve on its performance in the region, following its acquisition in June of the Krusovice Brewery in the Czech Republic.
The America's division posted a 4.3 per cent rise in revenues to €1bn. Operating profit before exceptional items grew five per cent to €134m.
The group said the increases had stemmed from a 4.3 per cent organic rise in total beer volume sales for the region, which offset the effects of mixed weather and stagnant growth of its brands in its Caribbean markets.
The US dominated the growth through improved volumes of both its Heineken lager and its premium light ranges.
Heineken's Africa and the Middle East markets also recorded strong growth, with improved revenues of €653m, up 15.6 per cent over the same period last year.
Operating profit increased by 34.2 per cent organically to €154m, aided by strong sales growth in markets like Nigeria, South Africa and Dubai. Improved control of the division's costs also helped the company to push its top line growth for the period.
The Asia Pacific segment posted growth of 6.3 per cent to €299m. In organic terms operating profit increased 26.8 per cent to €195m as a result of strong volumes growth and improved cost efficiency. The markets of Vietnam, China, Australia, Taiwan and South Korea, all contributed strongly to this performance, the brewer said.
