Coca-Cola HBC backs earnings view after "strong" quarterly volume rise

(Alliance News) - Soft drink bottler Coca-Cola HBC AG on Thursday backed its annual guidance, after a "good start to the year".

Shares in the firm fell 3.9% to 4,257.00 pence each in London on Thursday morning. They are up around 13% so far in 2026.

Coca-Cola HBC operates in markets including Austria, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Ireland and Switzerland.

The firm's net sales revenue shot up 12% on-year in the first three months of 2026 to EUR2.71 billion from EUR2.42 billion. On an organic basis, it grew at largely the same pace.

Volumes rose 9.7% on a reported basis and 9.6% organically. Net revenue per unit case was 2.2% higher, up 1.8% organically.

Chief Executive Officer Zoran Bogdanovic said these were "high quality results despite challenging macro conditions".

"Strong underlying volume growth was in line with our plans, and was further strengthened by additional selling days over the period. We made progress against our strategy, investing in our unique 24/7 portfolio, activating Coke & Meals campaigns across our markets, and launching innovations for Monster and Powerade. We continue to invest in our bespoke capabilities, which enabled strong segmented execution across all markets," Bogdanovic said.

"Despite heightened geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty, we remain confident that our portfolio, capabilities and people position us to win in the market, and we are reiterating our 2026 guidance today."

Zug, Switzerland-based Coca-Cola HBC still expects organic revenue growth for 2026 in its 6% to 7% medium-term target range. It aims for organic earnings before interest and tax growth between 7% and 10%. Net sales revenue in 2025 amounted to EUR11.60 billion, while the operating Ebit was EUR1.31 billion.

It lifted its finance costs estimate to between EUR45 million and EUR65 million, from EUR25 million to EUR45 million.

By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor

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