Coca-Cola HBC's 2013 results buoyed by strong fourth quarter

14th Feb 2014 07:15

Underlying operating profits at Coca-Cola bottling firm Coca-Cola HBC (CCH) were stable in 2013 despite a dip in volumes and revenues, after strong earnings growth in the fourth quarter.The company, which is the second-largest Coca-Cola anchor bottler in the world, said that comparable earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) totalled €453.9m last year, more or less unchanged on 2012.Growth was helped by a 23% surge in comparable EBIT to €68.3m in the last three months of the year, as revenue growth initiatives and 1% growth in volumes more than offset total input cost increases in absolute terms. CCH also said that operating expenses as a percentage of net sales revenue declined by 130 basis points (bps) in the fourth quarter, outweighing the impact of adverse foreign exchange movements. Chief Executive Dimitris Lois said the company delivered a "strong fourth quarter with growth in both volume and currency neutral net sales revenue per case which, combined with excellent management of operating expenses, led to a 90bps improvement in our EBIT margin".The volume growth registered in the fourth quarter limited the volume decline over the whole of 2013, with full-year volumes falling 1% to 2.06bn cases. Net sales revenues for the year fell 2% to €6.87bn.Looking ahead to 2014, CCH predicts a "challenging" macroeconomic and trading environment across most of its regions: "Persistently high unemployment is expected to continue to affect disposable income, while recent currency developments in our emerging and developing markets may add further pressure to the trading environment."Meanwhile, it warned that there currently is "limited visibility" of the potential impact from recent turmoil in emerging markets. CCH expects constant-currency revenue per share to grow at a higher rate this year than in 2013, while input costs will remain stable. However, the negative impact from currency movements in 2014 is expected to be "significantly higher" than last year.BC