News

Results for the year ended 31 December 2020

OPERATIONAL AGILITY DELIVERS RESILIENT PERFORMANCE

Coca-Cola HBC AG, a growth-focused Consumer Packaged Goods business and strategic bottling partner of The Coca-Cola Company, reports its financial results for the full year ended 31 December 2020. 

Full Year Highlights

  • Our business adapted quickly to changing consumer behaviour as a result of COVID-19 restrictions, delivering resilient financial performance reflecting strength of brand portfolio, operational agility and strong execution
  • Improving volume trends in second half, with Q4 like-for-like[1] volume down 0.7% and full-year like-for-like1 volume decline contained at 4.6% YoY
    • Four of our largest markets grew volumes, on a like-for-like1 basis: Nigeria, Russia, Poland and Ukraine
    • At-home channel volumes up mid-single digit in second half
  • FX-neutral revenue per case stabilised in the second half, improving to a 4.1% decline YoY (H1 2020 -6.1% YoY)
    • Driven by negative package mix from lower single-serve volumes
    • Strong positive category mix, Sparkling +0.2%, Adult Sparkling +3.2% and Energy up 17.9%
  • Full-year like-for-like1 FX-neutral revenue declined by 8.5%, while reported revenue declined by 12.7%
    • Strong market share gains in 2020: +40 bps of value share in NARTD and +30 bps in Sparkling
    • Performance by segment mainly driven by each region’s relative exposure to the out-of-home channel as well as timing and severity of lockdowns through the year
  • We have created a more agile business; comparable EBIT margin at 11.0%, up 20bps YoY, or 10.6%
    like-for-like1, down 20bps YoY. Reported EBIT declined by 7.6% to €660.7 million
    • Structural improvement to cost base over several years, shifting fixed costs to variable, enabling efficiency gains
    • Gross profit margin up 20bps through good management of input & supply chain costs and FX hedging
    • Decisive action on discretionary costs early in the pandemic delivered €120m of cost savings
  • Comparable EPS of €1.19, down 17.5%, impacted by a higher effective tax rate and a small increase in financing costs; basic EPS declined by 14.9%
  • Board of Directors to propose an ordinary dividend of €0.64 per share, a +3.2% increase year-on-year
    • Free cash flow of €497 million, up €54.4 million YoY
    • Financial discipline and strong balance sheet continue to support investment in the business
  • Ongoing investment in sustainable solutions for packaging including rPET in-house production and deposit return scheme (DRS) studies

 


 

 

Full-Year

Change

 

20201

2019

 

Volume (m unit cases)

2,135.6

2,264.5

-5.7%

Net sales revenue (€ m)

6,131.8

7,026.0

-12.7%

Net sales revenue per unit case (€)

2.87

3.10

-7.5%

FX-neutral net sales revenue2 (€)

6,131.8

6,781.7

-9.6%

FX-neutral net sales revenue per unit case2 (€)

2.87

2.99

-4.1%

Operating expenses/ Net sales revenue (%)

27.4

27.5

 -

Comparable operating expenses / Net sales revenue (%)

27.3

26.9

40bps

Operating profit (EBIT)3 (€ m)

660.7

715.3

-7.6%

Comparable EBIT2 (€ m)

672.3

758.7

-11.4%

EBIT margin (%)

10.8

10.2

60bps

Comparable EBIT margin2 (%)

11.0

10.8

20bps

Net profit4 (€ m)

414.9

487.5

-14.9%

Comparable net profit2,4 (€ m)

431.4

522.2

-17.4%

Basic earnings per share (EPS) (€)

1.140

1.340

-14.9%

Comparable EPS2 (€)

1.185

1.436

-17.5%

Free cash flow2 (€ m)

497.0

442.6

12.3%

1Performance, unless stated otherwise, is negatively impacted by the change in classification of our Russian Juice business (Multon), from a joint operation to a joint venture, following its re-organisation, and positively impacted by the inclusion of H1 2020 performance of Bambi, the acquisition of which was cycled in H2 2020. In addition, profitability is positively impacted by the Group’s election to classify share of results of integral equity method investments within operating profit. Like-for-like performance adjusts for all three impacts. For a table of performance measures excluding these impacts, please refer to the ‘Supplementary information’ section.

2For details on APMs refer to ‘Alternative Performance Measures’ and ‘Definitions and reconciliations of APMs’ sections.

3Refer 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.

 

CC-HBC--067v3

“The numbers we released today demonstrate how far our business has come in building both operational agility and lasting margin resilience. I am proud of the speed, flexibility and care with which our people responded to the pandemic and the results we have achieved. I am also thankful to our customers and suppliers for their valuable partnerships which are even more critical in these challenging times. The improved second-half trading was driven by a return to growth in the at-home and greater resilience in the out-of-home, despite a resurgence of infections in many of our markets towards the end of the year. Partnering closely with The Coca-Cola Company team on rigorous prioritisation of our joint market investments, coupled with our rapid adaptation of the route-to-market and excellent execution, resulted in strong value share gains in both Non-alcoholic ready-to-drink and Sparkling across the majority of our markets. While the economic outlook remains uncertain, we are clear on the opportunity and direction for our business and are investing to strengthen our capabilities which will drive our long-term performance, underpinned by further advances on sustainability. Looking to 2021, we will continue adapting fast in a dynamic market and partnering with our customers to drive a strong recovery in FX-neutral revenues, along with a small increase in EBIT margin. In recognition of our business’ strength and future opportunities, the Board has proposed a dividend of €0.64, a 3.2% increase compared to last year. We move forward with confidence and resolve to continue adapting to win.”

Zoran Bogdanovic Chief Executive Officer of Coca‑Cola HBC AG

Coca‑Cola HBC Group

Coca-Cola HBC is a growth-focused CPG business and strategic bottling partner of The Coca-Cola Company. We create value for all our stakeholders by supporting the socio-economic development of the communities in which we operate and we believe building a more positive environmental impact is integral to our future growth. Together, we and our customers serve more than 600 million consumers across a broad geographic footprint of 28 countries on 3 continents. Our portfolio is one of the strongest, broadest and most flexible in the beverage industry, offering consumer-leading partner brands in the sparkling, juice, water, sport, energy, plant-based, ready-to-drink tea, coffee, adult sparkling and premium spirits categories. These brands include Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero, Schweppes, Kinley, Royal Bliss, Costa Coffee, Valser, Romerquelle, Fanta, Sprite, Powerade, FuzeTea, Dobry, Cappy, Monster and Adez. We foster an open and inclusive work environment amongst our more than 27,000 employees and we are ranked among the top sustainability performers in ESG benchmarks such as the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices, CDP, MSCI ESG and FTSE4Good.

Coca-Cola HBC has a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE:CCH) and is listed on the Athens Exchange (ATHEX:EEE). For more information, please visit http://www.coca-colahellenic.com.