Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) has had an "encouraging start" to the year with year-on-year revenue and volume growth of 7.5% and 7.9%, respectively.
In Europe, CCEP registered revenue growth of 4.6% to €3.3 billion during the quarter, while comparable volume declined by 1.4%.
The APS segment saw revenue growth of 16.5% and volume growth of 38.8%. Continued solid underlying momentum in Australia and New Zealand boosted the company's performance in the Australia/Pacific (AP) region.
In Southeast Asia (SEA), strong demand in the Philippines and an early Ramadan contributed to the company's first-quarter performance.
'An Encouraging' Start
Describing the quarter as "an encouraging" start to the year, chief executive officer Damian Gammell said, "Our first quarter delivered good volume and revenue growth despite cycling strong growth in Europe albeit more than offset by a great start to the year in APS, especially in the Philippines.
"This demonstrates how our diversity makes us a stronger and more robust business, operating in categories that remain resilient despite ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility. We grew both share and household penetration ahead of the market. And our focus on revenue growth management and our headline price and promotion strategy across a broad pack offering also drove solid gains in revenue per unit case."
Outlook
CCEP expects comparable growth of around 4%, in line with its mid-term strategic objectives, and more balance between volume and price/mix than FY 2023.
It foresees operating profit growth of around 7% in comparable terms as it focuses on optimising discretionary spending and delivering efficiency programmes.
The company has also declared a first-half interim dividend per share of €0.74, calculated as 40% of the FY 2023 dividend.
Gammell said, "We are well placed for FY24 and beyond, continuing to invest for the long term.
"We are confident that we have the right strategy, done sustainably, to deliver on our mid-term growth objectives, which combined with today's interim dividend declaration, demonstrate the strength of our business, and our ability to deliver continued shareholder value."
Earlier this year, CCEP's innovation arm, CCEP Ventures, entered into a partnership with Deep Science Ventures (DSV) to work with water specialists and entrepreneurs to develop and implement new technologies to address water scarcity.
