LONDON – Coca-Cola European Partners plc (CCEP), has announced its interim results for the third-quarter ended 28 September 2018, with a 4% rise in revenue to US$9.88 billion.
According to the company, the nine months diluted earnings per share were US$1.8 on a reported basis or US$2 on a comparable basis, including a negligible impact from currency translation.
It added that its nine months revenue were totalled at US$9.88 billion, up 4%, or up 4.5% on a comparable and fx-neutral basis, while the volume decreased 0.5% on a comparable basis, partly reflecting the impact of recent strategic portfolio and pricing decisions.
CCEP also affirms full-year guidance for 2018 including comparable diluted earnings per share in a range of US$2.58 to US$2.6 including currency translation at recent rates and the impact of share buybacks.
It also declares fourth-quarter interim dividend of US$0.32 per share implying an annualised dividend payout ratio of approximately 50%.
Nine months reported operating profit was US$1.25 billion, up 4.0 percent; comparable operating profit was US$1.36 billion, up 7.5 percent on a comparable basis, or up 8.0 percent on a comparable and fx-neutral basis.
The third-quarter diluted earnings per share were US$0.83 on a reported basis or US$0.86 on a comparable basis, including a negligible impact from currency translation.
“Our year-to-date results reflect our ongoing focus on driving profitable revenue growth through continued strong price and mix realisation and solid in-market execution.
I am particularly pleased with how our teams across Great Britain, Germany and Northern Europe have embraced the positive challenges brought by great summer weather, although partially offset by softer trading in Spain and France,” said Damian Gammell, Chief Executive Officer.
“It is a fantastic time to be leading Coca-Cola European Partners, soon with a new CCEP ticker, and the world’s largest independent Coca-Cola bottler by net revenue. As we laid out at our recent Capital Markets Day, we have an exciting but realistic long-term view of the growth opportunity across our portfolio of markets.
We continue to make the right strategic decisions for the long-term alongside investing now in core capabilities that will support our growth and set us apart to win.”
“Given our solid performance year-to-date, we are reaffirming our 2018 profit outlook.
We are on track to return up to US$568 million to shareholders in 2018 as part of the recently announced US$1.7 billion share buyback programme, which alongside moving to an annualised payout ratio of approximately 50% in Q4 2018, collectively demonstrate our ultimate goal of delivering sustainable value for our shareholders.”
