11th May 2021 08:59
(Alliance News) - Coca Cola Europacific Partners PLC on Tuesday reported a decline in revenue in the first quarter, as it awaits the return of away-from-home drinks consumption following the acquisition of Coca-Cola Amatil in Australia.
Shares were down 0.6% to EUR46.75 in London. CCEP has a market capitalisation of about USD26 billion.
Revenue in Europe in the quarter ended April 2 fell 7.5% year-on-year to EUR2.29 billion from EUR2.48 billion, the bottling company said in a trading update. Volume fell 10% to 489 million unit cases, with an increase in at-home consumption unable to compensate for a plunge in sales to the hospitality industry.
Results in the Australia, Pacific and Indonesia region were more positive, with revenue growing 8.0% to EUR797 million. The region is a new market for Coca-Cola Europacific following the acquisition of Sydney-based peer Coca-Cola Amatil, which it completed on Monday.
CCEP bought Coca-Cola Amatil from its independent shareholders and US brand owner Coca-Cola Co. The deal valued Amatil at AUD9.77 billion, about GBP5.40 billion.
The strong performance in Australia and New Zealand shows the positive effect of lifting lockdown restrictions, which will come to other markets in time, the company noted.
But the London-based firm, which changed its name from Coca-Cola European Partners on Monday, said it was unable to provide guidance for the 2021 financial year because of pandemic uncertainty.
"Trading conditions remained similar to the last quarter of 2020, with renewed restrictions in many of our markets impacting the away-from-home channel. We have been able to keep on winning, gaining value share in store and online, through our ability to adapt, strong execution and continued focus on our core brands," Chief Executive Damian Gammell said.
By Ivan Edwards; [email protected]
Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Coca-cola Euro.