Volumes also grew 4.6% in the first half (six months ending June 29, 2018), thanks to an acceleration in the second quarter.
Recent launches for Coca-Cola HBC include Fuze Tea in 27 markets, and plant-based beverage AdeZ across 11 markerts in May: both of which show promising performance, says Coca-Cola HBC.
Meanwhile low and no calorie sparkling beverages grew 18.8%: strong growth when compared to full-sugar variants which grew 2.9%. New and lighter flavors in the sparkling beverage category have been a strong part of the portfolio this year.
Coca-Cola Zero – which also has cherry, lemon, lime, peach, vanilla and ginger flavours – was the fastest growing brand at 24.9%.
Coca-Cola HBC covers a diverse range of markets, including 2018 World Cup host Russia. Its markets are categorised into three groups: ‘established’ (including Ireland, Austria, Cyprus and Switzerland); ‘developing’ (including Croatia, Estonia, Poland and Slovenia) and ‘emerging’ (including Armenia, Belarus, Montenegro, Nigeria, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine).
Zoran Bogdanovic, CEO, Coca-Cola HBC, said: “The evolution of our portfolio is gathering pace and gaining traction with customers across our markets.
"We have delivered a strong set of results as product launches and tailored commercial activation enabled us to capitalise on favourable market conditions and the FIFA World Cup.
"Revenue growth was excellent driven by both volume and price/mix improvements across all three of our geographic segments. Margins continue to improve as we keep our focus on driving top-line growth and cost control.
“We continue to make good progress against the 2020 targets and expect to deliver another year of revenue growth and improvement in margins.”
Coca-Cola HBC half-year highlights
- Strong revenue growth of 6.4% in the first half on an FX-neutral basis; acceleration in the second quarter, supported by new product launches, good weather and the FIFA World Cup.
- FX-neutral revenue per case increased by 1.8%, delivered through pricing, as well as continued improvements in category and package mix in all three segments.
- Volume accelerated in the second quarter, resulting in 4.6% growth in the first half. Sparkling beverages volume was particularly strong, also up by 4.6%. Established markets volume increased by 0.9%, with good performances in Greece and Ireland. Strong growth in the Developing markets continues, with volume up 8.9%, led by Poland and Hungary. Emerging markets delivered 5.1% volume growth, supported by a return to growth in Nigeria and Russia in the second quarter.