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LONDON (Alliance News) - Coca-Cola HBC AG on Thursday said it will return EUR730 million via a special dividend of EUR2.00 per share, as it reported growth in revenue and volumes for the first quarter of 2019.
Shares in Coca-Cola HBC were trading 2.2% higher at 2,783.71 pence each on Thursday morning.
The bottler of Coke and other soft drinks said it remains on track to deliver currency-neutral revenue growth above its internal targeted range and step up in margins for the full year due to good start to the year.
For the first quarter, Coca-Cola HBC recorded 4.4% year-on-year rise in net sales reported revenue, with currency neutral revenue rising 4.7% year-on-year. The growth was mainly attributed to growth in developing and emerging markets, which delivered 6.5% and 6.9% currency neutral revenue growth, respectively. Established markets contributed 1.5% to forex-neutral revenue growth.
Volumes for the three-month period increased 3.5%, despite a 90 basis point headwind from the later Easter, which landed in April this year.
Emerging segment volumes grew by 5.7% with encouraging volume growth in Nigeria and continued strong results from Russia, Romania and Ukraine. Developing segment volumes grew by 2.6%, while established segment volumes were up 0.2%.
"This good start sets us up well to deliver on our plans and make 2019 another year in which we achieve FX-neutral revenue growth above our targeted range with another step up in margins," said Chief Executive Zoran Bogdanovic.
"I am also pleased to announce that the board has decided to propose a special dividend of EUR2.00 per share, reflecting successive years of strong performance, confidence in the future and our commitment to creating value for our shareholders," Bogdanovic added.
