Coca-Cola HBC cautious as Q3 volumes hit by tough macro conditions

7th Nov 2013 07:08

- Company expects tough conditions to persist- European macro conditions pressure disposable income- Revenues, EBIT fall in Q3 as volumes slipCoca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, the world's second-largest bottler of Coca-Cola, saw revenues dip in the third quarter as volumes were hit by tough economic conditions in Europe.The company also warned that trading conditions would "remain difficult" for the rest of 2013.The Greece-headquartered firm said that net sales revenue fell 5% from €2,021m to €1,918m in the three months to September 27th, with revenue per unit case falling 2% to €3.34. However, on a currency neutral basis, revenue per unit case edged 1% higher to €3.45, its ninth consecutive quarter of increases.Earnings before interest and tax fell by 2% from €211m to €207m, while earnings per share decreased 7% from 44 cents to 41 cents.Volumes in unit cases totalled 575m, down 3% from 594m the year before, which "reflects the ongoing difficult macroeconomic environment in Europe", according to Chief Executive Dimitris Lois. Volume declines in the established markets of Italy and Greece in particular were highlighted, along with the developing markets of Hungary and the Czech Republic. The emerging-market regions of Romania and Ukraine also failed to grow volumes during the quarter.Coca-Cola HBC said that the challenging macro and trading conditions are expected to persist across most regions for the remainder of the current year, "with economic uncertainty, austerity measures and high unemployment continuing to pressure disposable income"."We face continuing challenging comparables in our emerging markets and we expect varying levels of performance in the last quarter. Although we were pleased to see the rate of decline in the established and developing segments moderate in the third quarter, we are cautious, as the consumer sentiment remains under pressure. "We do not anticipate the current trading conditions to change in the last quarter of the year."BC