23rd Feb 2024 08:48
(Alliance News) - Coca-Cola Europacific Partners PLC on Friday said it was "well-placed" for the coming year after a strong 2023, as the company also announced the completion of an acquisition.
For the year ended December 31, the soft drink bottler's revenue was up 5.5% to EUR18.30 billion from EUR17.32 billion. Pretax profit was EUR2.20 billion for the year, up 13% from EUR1.96 billion in 2022.
Operating profit rose 11% to EUR2.37 billion from EUR2.14 billion in 2022.
Diluted earnings per share were EUR3.71 for the year, up 9.5% from EUR3.39 a year prior.
Coca-Cola Europacific is a bottling company which distributes Coca-Cola products and other drinks across Europe as well as the Asia-Pacific region. It is headquartered in Uxbridge.
Coca-Cola Europacific's full-year dividend amounted to EUR1.84 per share, 9.5% ahead of EUR1.68 paid to shareholders in 2022.
Chief Executive Officer Damian Gammell said: "We are well-placed for 2024 and beyond. We are stronger and better, more diverse and robust, and our categories remain resilient despite ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility. We have fantastic activation plans, focusing on the Paris Olympics and the UEFA euros, to engage customers and consumers. And we continue to actively manage our pricing and promotional spend to remain relevant to our consumers, balancing affordability and premiumisation."
In a separate announcement, Coca-Cola Europacific said it had completed its acquisition of Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines Inc from Coca-Cola Co.
The acquisition, originally announced in August, is in joint venture alongside Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc, a Manila-based holding company, which will acquire 40% ownership of CCBPI. Coca-Cola Europacific will hold the majority 60%.
CCBPI delivered around USD1.9 billion in revenue in 2023, alongside USD115 million in operating profit.
The deal values CCBPI at USD1.8 billion, and will allow the company to further expand into the Australian, Pacific and Indonesian markets, Coca-Cola Europacific said.
The company said that the deal will be "immediately" earnings per share-accretive, and represents "a great opportunity to co-own an established, well-run business with attractive profitability and growth prospects".
Shares in Coca-Cola Europacific were down 0.8% at EUR62.50 each in London on Friday morning.
By Hugh Cameron, Alliance News reporter
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