Soft drink bottler Coca-Cola HBC reported slightly higher-than-expected quarterly revenue growth on Thursday, driven by higher volumes.
The bottler of Coca-Cola Co drinks said third-quarter revenue rose 2.6% to €1.87 billion. Analysts on average were expecting €1.86 billion, according to a consensus forecast supplied by the company.
Excluding the impact of currency fluctuations, revenue rose 4.5%, with the bulk of the growth coming from volume gains. Higher prices contributed only 0.3% to the increase.
The company blamed the timing of planned promotions for a slowdown in pricing, and said it should accelerate in the current fourth quarter.
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"We are pleased with how our actions are positioning the business to successfully capture growth opportunities in our markets," commented Zoran Bogdanovic, chief executive officer of Coca‑Cola HBC AG.
"Our product portfolio is evolving to meet changing consumer preferences, and by partnering with customers we are strengthening our route to market. We had a quarter of solid growth led by continued good progress in volumes against strong comparatives. As expected, the slowdown in price/mix growth primarily reflected the timing of planned pricing activity, and we expect an acceleration in the final quarter."
Bogdanovic added that trading during the month of October was "strong", and that the company is "confident that 2018 will be another year of good growth in both revenue and margins."
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
