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Coca-Cola Europacific Partners PLC on Friday said it was ‘well-placed’ for the coming year after a strong 2023, as the company also announced the completion of an acquisition. For the year ended December 31, the soft drink bottler’s revenue was up 5.5% to €18.30 billion from €17.32 billion. Pretax profit was €2.20 billion for the year, up 13% from €1.96 billion in 2022. Operating profit rose 11% to €2.37 billion from €2.14 billion in 2022. Diluted earnings per share were €3.71 for the year, up 9.5% from €3.39 a year prior. Coca-Cola Europacific is a bottling company which distributes Coca-Cola products and other drinks across Europe as well as the Asia-Pacific region. It is headquartered in Uxbridge. Coca-Cola Europacific’s full-year dividend amounted to €1.84 per share, 9.5% ahead of €1.68 paid to shareholders in 2022. Chief Executive Officer Damian Gammell said: ‘We are well-placed for 2024 and beyond. We are stronger and better, more diverse and robust, and our categories remain resilient despite ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility. We have fantastic activation plans, focusing on the Paris Olympics and the UEFA euros, to engage customers and consumers. And we continue to actively manage our pricing and promotional spend to remain relevant to our consumers, balancing affordability and premiumisation.’ In a separate announcement, Coca-Cola Europacific said it had completed its acquisition of Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines Inc from Coca-Cola Co. The acquisition, originally announced in August, is in joint venture alongside Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc, a Manila-based holding company, which will acquire 40% ownership of CCBPI. Coca-Cola Europacific will hold the majority 60%. CCBPI delivered around $1.9 billion in revenue in 2023, alongside $115 million in operating profit. The deal values CCBPI at $1.8 billion, and will allow the company to further expand into the Australian, Pacific and Indonesian markets, Coca-Cola Europacific said. The company said that the deal will be ‘immediately’ earnings per share-accretive, and represents ‘a great opportunity to co-own an established, well-run business with attractive profitability and growth prospects’. Shares in Coca-Cola Europacific were down 0.8% at €62.50 each in London on Friday morning. Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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