THIRD QUARTER 2018 TRADING UPDATE
A QUARTER OF SOLID GROWTH
Coca-Cola HBC AG, a leading bottler of the brands of The Coca-Cola Company, today announces its 2018 Q3 trading update.
Third quarter highlights
- Solid FX-neutral revenue growth, up 4.5%
- Volumes increased 4.2% in the quarter, with strong delivery in the Developing markets and the Emerging markets.
- Established markets volumes were broadly stable, given the tough prior-year comparative of 2.2%.
- Developing markets volumes increased by 11.3%. This very positive result was broad-based with strong volume growth across all the countries in the segment. Poland, which maintained its growth momentum, made a significant contribution.
- Emerging markets volumes increased by 4.1%, with good contributions from all markets including Nigeria and Russia. As anticipated, we saw a moderation in the very strong pace of growth from Romania, Ukraine and Serbia, which were all cycling high growth rates in the prior-year period.
- FX-neutral revenue per case improved by 0.3% in the quarter, a slowdown on recent trends, reflecting the timing of our pricing actions and negative channel mix.
- Established markets FX-neutral revenue per case declined by 0.4%, as strong Water volumes impacted category mix negatively and competitive pressures drove increased promotional activity in the quarter.
- Developing markets saw FX-neutral revenue per case growth of 2.5%. This is an improvement on the first half, reflecting our strategy to drive more revenue growth in this segment from price and category mix in the second half.
- Emerging markets saw FX-neutral revenue per case growth of 0.7%, a slowdown on the first half, driven partly by the timing of price increases. A decline in Premium Spirits volumes in Russia had a significant negative impact on category mix, in addition to ongoing negative channel mix.
| Q3 2018 vs. Q3 2017 | Net sales revenue | Volume | Net sales revenue per unit case |
| growth (%) | FX-neutral1 | Reported | | FX-neutral1 | Reported |
| Total Group | 4.5 | 2.6 | 4.2 | 0.3 | -1.6 |
| Established markets | -0.5 | -0.7 | -0.1 | -0.4 | -0.6 |
| Developing markets | 14.1 | 12.4 | 11.3 | 2.5 | 0.9 |
| Emerging markets | 4.8 | 1.1 | 4.1 | 0.7 | -2.9 |
1 For details on Alternative Performance Measures ('APMs') refer to 'Alternative Performance Measures' and 'Definitions and reconciliations of APMs' sections.
Zoran Bogdanovic, Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola HBC AG, commented:
"We are pleased with how our actions are positioning the business to successfully capture growth opportunities in our markets. 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. October trading has been strong, and we look to the full year confident that 2018 will be another year of good growth in both revenue and margins."
Please find below the Q3 2018 trading update press release
THIRD QUARTER 2018 TRADING UPDATE - A QUARTER OF SOLID GROWTH
