Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) has delivered robust first-half results, despite the poor weather at the start of the summer, with the business benefitting from the ongoing overhaul of its product portfolio in order to meet the challenge of changing consumption trends in the soft drinks market.
In the six months ended 28 June, the world’s largest independent Coca-Cola bottler saw its total revenue climb 7% to €5.8bn, with growth across all its main markets in Europe. Operating profits rose 10.5% to €770m, buoyed by revenue growth and merger synergies.
Comparable volume increased 3.0%, reflecting “solid execution” partly offset by the impact of last year’s introduction of the soft drinks sugar tax in the UK. The company’s overall revenue per unit case was up 4.5%, benefiting from “favourable underlying price & package mix”.
By category, volumes of its core Coca-Cola brand rose 3%, whilst flavoured, mixers, and Energy drinks rose 4%. Volumes of its hydration brands slipped 1%, whilst RTD teas & coffees and juices climbed 4.5%
In Great Britain, CCEP’s revenue rose 4.5% to €1.15bn when excluding the impact of incremental soft drinks taxes. It said it saw good volume growth in the country, supported by its Light Colas, Fanta, Schweppes & Monster lines, partially offset by unfavourable weather in the second quarter.
In France, revenue increased 6% to €967m, whilst Germany saw a 5.5% rise to €1.17bn. The Iberia region (Spain, Portugal & Andorra) saw revenues climb 6% to €1.28bn, whilst in Northern Europe (Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Iceland) revenues were up 3.5% to €1.23m.
Damian Gammell, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “We have delivered a good first-half performance, reflecting our continued focus on driving profitable revenue growth through price and mix realisation and solid in market execution, alongside the successful closure of our merger commitments. We remain focused on building this momentum, albeit following a strong third quarter last year, including scaling up on some of our exciting innovations like Coke Energy and the recently launched Costa ready-to-drink coffee in Great Britain.”
Reaffirming the company’s full-year guidance of revenue growth in the low single-digit range and operating profit growth of between 6-7%, he added: “We remain confident in our annual growth objectives over the mid-term, which make for an attractive investment story underpinned by a strong and flexible balance sheet. This, alongside healthy dividend growth and the continuation of our share buyback programme, collectively demonstrate our focus on delivering sustainable value for our shareholders.”
