UK Coca-Cola bottler posts profit surge after hospitality rebound

The Coca-Cola bottling business for the UK and Europe has almost doubled its profits for the past year after it was boosted by the reopening of hospitality and acquisitions.

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) hailed an “extraordinary year” which saw it post a 98.5% rise in profits after tax to 988 million euro (£828.5 million) for 2021, compared with the previous year.

It added that revenues increased by 30% for the year, significantly driven by its acquisition of Australian bottling business Coca-Cola Amatil.

The company rebranded from Coca-Cola European Partners after it snapped up the Australian arm in May 2021.

CCEP said like-for-like sales were up 4.5% on 2020 levels as customers bought more drinks outside of their homes, following the reopening of pubs restaurants and bars.

Nevertheless, the company said this remained 5.5% below pre-pandemic levels from 2019.

In Great Britain, the business said sales of Coca-Cola, Fanta and Monster all reported growth on pre-pandemic levels as they benefited from strong retail sales as well as a rebound from hospitality.

Damian Gammell, chief executive officer, said: “2021 was an extraordinary year for CCEP.

“We are a stronger, more diverse business, built on great people, great service and great beverages – done sustainably.

“Solid top-line recovery, value share gains, operating margin expansion and remarkable free cash flow generation demonstrate our strong performance in a challenging environment.

“Our results also reflect the successful acquisition and integration of Coca-Cola Amatil, a fantastic business to have acquired at the right time, as we look forward to an even brighter future together.”

The group said it is “well-placed” for 2022 and expects a recovery is sales volumes to continue over the short term.