Coca-Cola HBC profit falls short on costs, tough European market | Progresiv
Swiss-based soft drink bottler Coca-Cola HBC’s first-half operating profit missed analyst expectations, dragged down by higher costs, sluggish growth in its established markets and an unseasonable cool start to the European summer. 
HBC, which produces Coca-Cola drinks under franchise for 28 mostly European markets and is one of the world’s biggest soft-drinks bottlers, reported a 4.9% dip in operating profit to 288.9 million euros, missing a company supplied average estimate of 319.8 million euros.
Net sales revenue rose 3.8% to 3.35 billion euros for the six months ended June 28, beating a forecast 3.34 billion euros.
Restructuring undertaken in 2019 cost about 30 million euros. The company, which bought Serbian confectionary firm Bambi in June, also reported acquisition-related costs.
“We are pleased with this solid first half given the challenging combination of tough comparators and unseasonably cold and wet weather,” Chief Executive Officer Zoran Bogdanovic said.
With the euro zone economy slowing, the company reported a rise of just 0.4% in volumes in its established markets - a category including Austria, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Switzerland.
That was outstripped by greater demand in Nigeria and emerging markets in eastern Europe, which got a boost at the end of June from the first days of one of the hottest summers on record.
Developing economies served by HBC across eastern Europe and Africa are still expected to grow several times faster than their developed neighbours in western Europe. (uk.reuters.com)
