Coca-Cola HBC Q1 revenues beat guidance

(Sharecast News) - Bottler Coca-Cola HBC on Tuesday said first-quarter revenue beat forecasts and reiterated guidance that annual operating profit would grow further on the back of strong demand. The Swiss-based company reported a 12.6% rise in organic net sales revenue for the three months to March 29 €2.23bn, compared with a company-compiled consensus of 9.5%.

"Although we are mindful of the broader macroeconomic backdrop, we are confident in delivering our financial guidance in the year ahead and on making further progress against our medium-term growth targets," said chief executive Zoran Bogdanovic.

The company held its outlook for annual organic operating profit to grow in the range of 3% - 9%.

Organic revenue per case for the quarter was up 10.6% with pricing remaining "the most important driver of value", Coca-Cola HBC said.

"We continued to adjust our pricing in Q1 2024 to mitigate ongoing cost inflation, albeit at a lower level than 2023. We also made successful pricing interventions to navigate currency devaluation, regulation and taxation in specific markets."

"In addition, we benefitted from the cycling impact of pricing taken in 2023, an impact we expect to reduce through the course of the year."

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com