Coca-Cola half-year profits fizz as CEO thanks pricing strategy

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners have delivered a “solid” half-year sales performance, which its CEO put down to its price and promotion strategy.

The cola manufacturer posted that in the first half of 2024, comparable operating profit hit £1.11bn (€1.29bn), up 11.2% from the same period last year.

Likewise, comparable sales also rose to £8.45bn (€9.82bn), up 9.5%, while volume increased by 13.8%, compared to the first half of 2023.

Chief executive officer Damian Gammell said its performance reflects a prioritisation of headline price and promotion strategy, among other areas.

Gammell said: “Our focus on revenue growth management, headline price and promotion strategy across a broad pack offering also drove solid gains in revenue per unit case. 

“Looking ahead, we are well placed operating in categories that remain resilient. We continue to invest for growth and have strong commercial plans in place for the rest of this year and beyond to engage customers and consumers.

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“We remain focused on driving profitable revenue growth, actively managing our pricing and promotional spending to remain affordable and relevant to our consumers, alongside our focus on productivity and free cash flow.”

Meanwhile elsewhere, bottling giant Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (HBC), which operates in Northern Ireland, also experienced a successful first half of the year, which led to it upping its full-year guidance.

Its operating profit inched up 1.6% to £487.2m (€566.1m) and sales grew 3.1% to £4.45bn (€5.17bn) in the six months to 24 June, while its organic volumes also rose by 3.1 over the half-year.

Chief executive Zoran Bogdanovic called the company’s performance “strong” despite experiencing “challenging environments in several markets”.

“While mindful of macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges as well as a more uncertain consumer environment, we are upgrading our guidance for the year, reflecting our strong first half performance and confidence that we can continue to win in the marketplace,” Bogdanovic added.

Both Coca-Cola HBC and Coca-Cola Europacific partners represent two of the biggest bottling partners The Coca-Cola Company has teamed up with out of the over two hundred partners that produce, bottle and sell its soft drinks across the world.

While Coca-Cola Europacific Partners are the sole licensed bottler for products in Great Britain, Coca Cola HBC operates in the UK through Northern Ireland.