Coca-Cola lifts earnings guidance after strong June sales

Coca-Cola HBC on Friday upgraded full year earnings guidance after a stronger than anticipated finish to the first half of the year.

The soft-drink bottler said performance in June, "one of our most significant months, was very good overall". As a result, it expects to deliver strong organic earnings before interest and tax growth for 2023 of 9-12%, from prior guidance of the top end of a -3 to +3% range.

"Our mid-term guidance from 2024 onwards is unchanged. We expect average annual organic revenue growth of 6-7% and average annual organic EBIT margin expansion of 20-40 basis points per annum," Coca-Cola HBC said.

Headquartered in Switzerland but listed in London, Coca-Cola HBC sells dozens of brands ranging from Monster Energy to Costa Coffee, Fanta and Sprite across 29 countries.

Trading has further benefited from stronger sales across established and developing markets, and higher volumes of sparkling, energy and coffee drinks.

Interactive Investor analyst Victoria Scholar said the company was "bucking broader market negativity" in comparison to Fevertree Drinks, which has been badly affected by glass shortages in the UK.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com