Mexico’s Coca-Cola Femsa is the second-largest Coca-Cola bottler in the world, with a reported net profit of Mex$585m, compared with Mex$1.93bn in the fourth quarter of 2007.
Revenue grew 24% to Mex$22.75bn, with the acquisition of Refrigerantes Minas Gerais in Brazil contributing significantly to the growth. Operating profit rose 26% to Mex$4.05bn.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, or Ebitda, rose 26% to Mex$4.95bn.
The company increased sales in all its divisions, posting a 7.4% rise in total sales volume to 599.8 million unit cases.
Financial expenses weighed heavily on the bottom line, with a cost of Mex$2.82bn compared with income of Mex$162m a year ago, mostly because of foreign exchange losses caused by the depreciation of the peso, which fell 21% against the US dollar last year. Net debt rose 8.9% to Mex$12.38bn.
Carlos Salazar Lomelin, Coca-Cola Femsa CEO, said: “Despite facing a challenging economic environment and pressures in our US dollar-denominated raw material cost, our company delivered solid volume, revenue and Ebitda growth for the quarter. Revenue management and multi-segmentation strategies across our territories, combined with the acquisitions we made during the year, drove our operations’ top- and bottom-line growth.
“The successful integration of the Remil franchise territory in Brazil, the acquisition of the Agua de los Angeles jug water business in the Valley of Mexico, and the consolidation of the Jugos del Valle line of business, especially in Mexico and Colombia, provided new avenues of growth for the company.
“This year, turbulent market and economic conditions present our company with the challenge of continuing to work relentlessly without losing our focus to achieve our goals. Our business is in a significantly better position to capture the opportunities that lie ahead in the beverage industry.”
Sources: CNN & Coca-Cola Femsa
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024