The company, which consists of European bottling operations, is The Coca-Cola Company’s third largest independent bottler following Coke’s $12bn acquisition of its North American operations in 2010. CCE has raised revenue in recent quarters, though margin growth has been more of a challenge.
The company reported a profit of $113 million, or 36 cents a share, up from a year-earlier profit of $97 million, or 28 cents a share.
– Volume rose 3% from the year-earlier quarter, while net pricing per case grew 2.5% as did the cost of goods sold per case.
“2011 marks the sixth consecutive year of volume and profit growth in our legacy territories,” said John F Brock, chairman and CEO. “While we continue to face ongoing marketplace and macroeconomic challenges, the results from our first full year of operating exclusively as a European bottler reinforce the confidence we have in the long-term potential of today’s Coca-Cola Enterprises.
“Throughout the year, we made consistent progress against key initiatives, including the integration of Norway and Sweden and the completion of our $1bn share repurchase programme.
“In 2012, we expect to deliver another year of growth as we continue to enhance our brand portfolio, improve the service we provide to our customers, and maximise the value of excellent marketplace opportunities, including the 2012 Olympic Games in London, which we are working to make the greenest ever.
“Ultimately, this will allow us to deliver against our long-term goal of creating increasing levels of shareowner value,” Brock said. “In working toward this objective, we initiated a new $1 billion share repurchase program in January 2012, with a goal of repurchasing at least $500 million of our shares by year end, and earlier this week increased our dividend by 23%.”
Source: Coca-Cola Enterprises
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