Coca-Cola Hellenic Announces Results for the Nine Months Ended 30 September 2011

ATHENS, November 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Results for the Nine Months Ended 30 September 2011

HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE NINE MONTHS

    (Numbers in EUR million except
    per share data)                   Nine Months Nine Months
                                         2011        2010     % Change

    Volume (million unit cases)          1,618       1,620        -
    Net Sales Revenue                    5,326       5,299        1%
    Cost of goods sold                   3,276       3,116        5%
    Comparable EBIT                        468         623       -25%
    Comparable Net Profit                  302         419       -28%
    Comparable Basic EPS (EUR)            0.83        1.15       -28%

• Top line: Volume was flat in the first nine months with a 3% increase in developing markets, fully offset by a 1% decline in established and emerging markets. Net sales revenue grew ahead of volume with a 3% increase in developing markets and a stable performance in established and emerging markets.
• Categories: Sparkling beverages volume increased by 3% in the first nine months of 2011, while energy drinks volume showed strong double digit growth. On the other hand, water and juice volume declined by 6% and 7%, respectively.
• Brands: All premium sparkling brands grew ahead of total volume, with Coca-Cola growing 6%, Coca-Cola Zero growing 9%, and Fanta and Sprite growing 2%, each.
• Share gains: In the first nine months of 2011, we gained both volume and value share in sparkling beverages across most of our key markets including Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Serbia, and Ireland.
• Restructuring: We expect benefits from restructuring initiatives of approximately €42 million in 2011.
• Comparable operating profit: The continuing adverse impact of commodity costs and persisting economic challenges across most of our territories resulted in a decline in comparable EBIT.
• Net debt: At the end of the first nine months of 2011, our net debt was €1,714 million.
• Cash flow: We generated free cash flow of €416 million in the first nine months of 2011.
• Free Cash Flow and Capex guidance: We revised our free cash flow guidance of €1.6 billion for 2011-2013 to €1.35 billion and cumulative capital expenditure from €1.5 billion to €1.35 billion.

Dimitris Lois, Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola Hellenic, commented:

"During the third quarter we continued to expand our leadership position in the marketplace by growing value share in the ready-to-drink category in twenty four out of our twenty eight markets. Consistent with our revenue growth strategy, we also achieved net sales revenue per unit case growth of 4% on a currency neutral basis.

The sharp deterioration in consumer confidence and continued pressure from input costs combined with the impact on our comparable results of last year's heat wave in several key countries impacted both volume and profitability in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, we will maintain focus on our strategic initiatives, revenue growth management, cost leadership and free cash flow generation while winning in the marketplace.

We are proud that our commitment to sustainable, profitable growth has been recognised for the fourth consecutive year through our inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Long term, our market execution capabilities, leading brands, broad geographic footprint with attractive growth prospects and our financial discipline leaves us confident in our ability to continue to create value for our shareholders."

SOURCE Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Co SA

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