Coca-Cola Europacific Partners post quarterly revenue rise on strong demand
14/02/2025 12:12
Feb 14 (Reuters) - Coca-Cola Europacific Partners
CCEP.O , a bottling unit of Coca-Cola KO.N , reported a 5%
rise in fourth-quarter sales on Friday, helped by strong demand
for higher-priced beverages, especially in the Australia,
Pacific and Southeast Asia markets.
The UK-based company, which bottles Coca-Cola's beverages
including Coca-Cola, Sprite and Monster in Western Europe and
Australia, also said it would buy back shares worth 1 billion
euros ($1.05 billion) over the next 12 months.
The company, which supplies beverages to fast-food chains
including McDonald's MCD.N and KFC-owner Yum Brands YUM.N ,
also saw a boost from demand for value combo meals, which
typically include a beverage.
Volumes rose 1.7% in Australia, Pacific and Southeast Asia
regions, but declined 2.6% in Europe as it removed Capri Sun
products from its range due to distribution agreements ending.
Overall, the company's adjusted comparable volumes fell 1.1%
in the fourth quarter, but was offset by higher prices of its
beverages, it said.
The Coca-Cola Company on Tuesday had forecast annual sales
growth at the upper end of its long-term target after a surprise
quarterly revenue rise.
To attract new customers, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners has
been investing to roll out new product variants, including
Coca-Cola Lime on both the regular and zero variants, banking on
the popularity of flavored colas.
For the quarter ended December 31, the company's adjusted
comparable revenue rose 5% to 5.25 billion euros.
The company sees annual adjusted comparable operating profit
to grow about 7%, compared to an 8% growth in 2024
It also forecast annual adjusted comparable revenue growth
of about 4%, compared to a 3.5% rise in the past year.
($1 = 0.9542 euros)
(Reporting by Neil J Kanatt in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh
Kuber)
((Neil.JKanatt@thomsonreuters.com;))