Solid Performance by Coca-Cola Hellenic
Greece-based soft drinks group Coca-Cola Hellenic increased volume sales by 1% in 2010 to 2.1b cases and net revenue by 4% to Eur6.79b. On a comparable basis (excluding restructuring costs), operating profit (EBIT) rose 5% to Eur682m and net profit advanced 8% to Eur450m. Free cash flow of Eur549m was stable compared to 2009.
During 2010, Coca-Cola Hellenic continued to focus on implementing cost reduction and productivity improvement initiatives as part of an ongoing effort to increase competitiveness and efficiency. The group incurred pre-tax restructuring costs of Eur37m which are expected to yield annualised benefits of Eur35-40m from 2011 onwards. Furthermore, Coca-Cola Hellenic has identified additional restructuring opportunities at a cost of approximately Eur30-35m in 2011, with expected annualised benefits of Eur20-25m from 2012 onwards.
Coca-Cola Hellenic is one of the world’s largest bottlers of Coca-Cola products. It has a broad geographic reach with operations in 28 countries serving a population of approximately 560 million people.
Doros Constantinou, chief executive of Coca-Cola Hellenic.
“We are pleased to report that Coca-Cola Hellenic delivered a solid performance in 2010, despite the persistent macro economic challenges across our geography. We continued to win in the marketplace, improve operating efficiency and maintain our strong cash flow generation. At the same time Coca-Cola Hellenic’s geographic diversity enabled us to deliver a strong set of results,” comments Doros Constantinou, chief executive of Coca-Cola Hellenic.
He adds: “Looking to the current year, we are encouraged that some of our key countries are exhibiting signs of economic improvement. However, we remain cautious as other key countries are continuing to endure economic challenges, and we are facing industry wide pressure on commodity prices. As we manage the business for the long-term we will be increasing our net capital expenditure to Eur1.5b for 2011–2013. At the same time, we remain focused on improving the efficiency of our business, and strengthening the ways in which we serve our customers.”
