Coca-Cola HBC AG (LON:CCH), a leading consumer products business and strategic bottling partner of The Coca-Cola Company, has reported its financial results for the six months ended 26 June 2020.
Half-year highlights
· Employees remain safe, customers served, production and logistics fully operational
· FX-neutral revenue fell by 14.7%, with volumes down 9.2% and FX-neutral revenue per case down 6.1%, as the pandemic had a significant impact on the out-of-home channel, leading to lower volumes, the vast majority of which came from single-serve package formats, in turn adversely impacting price/mix1
· Sequential improvements in FX-neutral revenue since the April decline of 36%, to a 5% decline in July
· Continue to gain or maintain share in the majority of our markets in Sparkling and Non-alcoholic ready-to-drink
· FX-neutral revenue growth by segment heavily influenced by severity of lockdowns, timing and pace of easing and relative exposure to the out-of-home channel:
– Established: -21.1% as countries in the segment entered lockdown first and derive a larger proportion of revenues from the out-of-home channel
– Developing: -16.4% as several larger countries eased restrictions faster and the segment is relatively less exposed to the out-of-home channel
– Emerging: -8.4% supported by growth in Nigeria and low exposure to the out-of-home channel in Russia
· Effective management of input costs and lower PET prices offset FX deterioration
· Strong cost control brought €61m of €100m savings planned for the year; comparable OPEX down 7.8%
· Operational deleverage drove comparable EBIT margins down 2.3pp to 7.4%. Comparable EBIT fell by 35.8% to €208.8m1
· Comparable EPS was €0.355, down 42.0%, while basic EPS was €0.341, down 36.4%.
· Strong balance sheet and adequate liquidity remains after paying a €0.62 dividend in July
| Half-Year 2020 | Half-Year 2019 | Change | |
| Volume1 (m unit cases) | 990.5 | 1,090.4 | -9.2% |
| Net sales revenue1 (€ m) | 2,831.2 | 3,352.4 | -15.5% |
| Net sales revenue per unit case1 (€) | 2.86 | 3.07 | -7.0% |
| FX-neutral net sales revenue1,2 (€) | 2,831.2 | 3,318.6 | -14.7% |
| FX-neutral net sales revenue per unit case1,2 (€) | 2.86 | 3.04 | -6.1% |
| Operating expenses/ Net sales revenue (%) | 30.1 | 28.5 | 160bps |
| Comparable operating expenses / Net sales revenue (%) | 30.0 | 27.5 | 250bps |
| Operating profit (EBIT)3 (€ m) | 202.9 | 288.9 | -29.8% |
| Comparable EBIT2 (€ m) | 208.8 | 325.1 | -35.8% |
| EBIT margin (%) | 7.2 | 8.6 | -150bps |
| Comparable EBIT margin2 (%) | 7.4 | 9.7 | -230bps |
| Net profit4 (€ m) | 124.0 | 195.1 | -36.4% |
| Comparable net profit2,4 (€ m) | 129.0 | 222.8 | -42.1% |
| Basic earnings per share (EPS) (€) | 0.341 | 0.536 | -36.4% |
| Comparable EPS2 (€) | 0.355 | 0.612 | -42.0% |
| Free cash flow2 (€ m) | (38.5) | 79.3 | NM |
1 For performance excluding the impact of acquisitions and accounting changes refer to the ‘Technical adjustments and the Bambi acquisition’ and ‘Supplementary information’ sections.
2For details on APMs refer to ‘Alternative Performance Measures’ and ‘Definitions and reconciliations of APMs’ sections.
3 Refer to the condensed consolidated income statement.
4Net Profit and comparable net profit refer to net profit and comparable net profit respectively after tax attributable to owners of the parent.
Zoran Bogdanovic, Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola HBC AG, commented:
“I am proud of our teams’ positive attitude and agility during this fast-changing time. This crucial part of our culture has allowed us to maintain full business continuity in unprecedented conditions, while keeping our people safe and customers and communities served.
Our fast, decisive actions ensured that our supply chain was uninterrupted, and our profitability protected during a very challenging Q2. Our strong performance on market share clearly demonstrates the power of our portfolio of brands and execution in the market; we will capitalise on this advantage now that we are seeing early signs of recovery. Coca-Cola HBC is a resilient business, well-positioned to adapt as markets reopen, emerge even stronger and win in the new normal.”
