Coca-Cola HBC AG, which bottles and distributes the soft drink in Europe, has revised its 2023 earnings guidance upward after an unexpectedly strong start to the year.
The group, having witnessed an exceptional performance in June — one of its crucial business months — anticipates delivering significant organic earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) growth for the first half of the year.
This has been driven by "operating leverage" from double-digit top-line expansion and "favourable adjustments in price-mix ratios".
The company now projects organic EBIT growth for 2023 to be within the 9-12% range, a marked upgrade from the previous expectation, which spanned from a 3% decrease to a 3% increase.
Despite the optimistic revision for 2023, Coca-Cola HBC's medium-term outlook remains consistent with prior predictions.
From 2024, the company continues to anticipate average annual organic revenue growth of 6-7% and an average annual organic EBIT margin expansion of 20-40 basis points.
The stock opened 4% higher.